Alaska seeks semis vs Purefoods

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska Milk, already assured of a playoff for a semis berth, tries to eliminate complications, going for an outright semis passage versus Purefoods in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum today.

Rain or Shine and Coca-Cola face each other in the day’s other game, fighting out for a guaranteed playoff at a wildcard round berth.

“It’s all big games for everybody now. We battle Purefoods with Ginebra, Talk n Text and Sta. Lucia surely watching us on TV. Even guys in the lower bracket are battling it out. It’s really a big battle right now,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

Alaska and Purefoods slug it out at 7:30 p.m. with the Aces looking to formalize entry into the semis and the Giants out to enhance their bid for a finish inside the Top Five.

The Giants, with a 10-6 win-loss record, are locked in a tight battle with the Ginebra Kings (11-6), the Talk n Text Tropang Texters (10-7) and the Sta. Lucia Realtors (9-7) for the three outright quarterfinal berths.

“We must keep our playoff mentality as we battle the Aces who I hope are tired coming from an exhausting game against Sta. Lucia Wednesday,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

“Nothing less than a playoff kind of a performance is required for us to have a chance against mighty Alaska,” Gregorio added. “LA Tenorio must be locked down as he starts everything for them. Willie Miller must also be guarded to limit his scoring options.”

Alaska is playing a second game in three days, and Cone is wary having limited time to prepare against Purefoods.

“I think we had our best defensive effort this conference against Sta. Lucia. That’s something we have to do again against Purefoods,” said Cone.

“We have to come out and reach deep. I don’t think we’ll have a problem on offense. It comes out night in and night out for us with Willie Miller, LA Tenorio and Joe Devance being real scorers. My concern is defense,” Cone added.

Alaska needs just one more win in its last three games to join San Miguel in an outright entry into the semis. It plays Burger King Wednesday and Rain or Shine next Friday.

Mathematically, Ginebra and Purefoods still have a chance to catch up with Alaska at second.

“We’ve got a better chance to make it. One big thing going for us is that we have control of our destiny. They don’t,” said Cone.