Kings have edge; Beermen unfazed

Disregard the numbers and the trends or better yet forget the entire first four games of the series.

Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer practically figure in a new battle as they break a two-game standoff coming off a four-game respite in their Talk n Text PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven title duel at the Araneta Coliseum today.

The Kings might have lost whatever momentum they have built on their back-to-back wins in Games Three and Four as the All-Filipino championship ceased play Sunday.

Perhaps, the psychological edge is on Ginebra’s side but San Miguel is as motivated that the Beermen could well return with renewed vim and vigor in this pivotal match set at 7 p.m.

With the four-day break, the Beermen could have put behind them their harrowing setbacks the last two games. The team lost those matches by a whopping average margin of 31.5 points.

"Kinalimutan na namin yon although we have to understand how tough Ginebra is," said San Miguel coach Chot Reyes.

With the Kings boosted by the return of Eric Menk and the Beermen slowed down by injuries to key players, Reyes said they’re now looking to come out physically and mentally tough to overcome Ginebra.

"We talked about concentrating on things that are in our control – how hard we play, how focused we are and the energy we bring into the game. Hopefully we do well in those areas and we’ll see," said Reyes.

The San Miguel mentor thought the Kings should now be the prohibitive picks with Menk back in harness and his ace forwards Danny Seigle and Danny Ildefonso hit by injuries.

Ildefonso re-joined the Beermen in practice just yesterday while Seigle, with a bruised calf, skipped all their practices the last four days.