Beermen, Express clash in knockout game

San Miguel Beer and Air21 knock each other out for the last slot in the quarterfinal round at the resumption today of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The lone setto is set at 6 p.m. with the two teams expected to figure in a fierce match to stay in contention in the All-Filipino tourney.

The winner advances to the quarterfinal round against Barangay Ginebra while the loser gets the boot, joining Red Bull, Purefoods and Coca-Cola on an early vacation.

San Miguel swept Air21 in two meetings in the elimination round but the Express have beefed up their lineup with their acquisition of Cyrus Baguio and Celino Cruz from Red Bull.

“All of us want to continue playing in this conference, and we have to find a way to win this game to be able to do that. We’re aware of San Miguel’s firepower and we intend to find a solution to that,” said Air21 coach Bo Perasol.

“We have to come into the game with a defensive mindset because Air21, right now, is the most talented team out there. We have to negate that by playing solid, smart basketball,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

Both San Miguel and Air21 checked a three-game slide, booting out Coca-Cola and Purefoods, respectively, last Sunday in the initial stage of the wildcard round.

The Beermen clobbered the Tigers, 99-89, while the Express walloped the Giants, 94-82.

Baguio played behind KG Canaleta and Gary David in his first game with the Express, contributing six points, two assists and one block in 20 minutes of action.

Cruz missed the Air21-Purefoods contest to attend the wake of his mother-in-law.

“Celino can play depending on our needs tomorrow (Sunday),” said Perasol.

Air21 is aching for revenge against San Miguel.

In their first meeting, the Express suffered a 129-130 heartbreaker in a game that needed two overtimes to finish after the referees erred in counting as a twinner what should have been a game-winning three-pointer by Ranidel de Ocampo in the first overtime.

The team protested the outcome of the controversial game but commissioner Sonny Barrios upheld San Miguel’s win.

In the rematch, the Beermen came out strong and never let up, scoring a lopsided 98-78 victory.