Down to four

There were initially 10 contenders for the PBA Philippine Cup crown. Now, the race to the top has narrowed to only four bets.

Outright semifinal qualifiers Alaska and San Miguel Beer return to action after a long break. The big question is are they ready or rusty? The Aces haven’t played since ekeing out a 95-94 win over Rain Or Shine last Jan. 22 – 18 days ago and the Beermen are coming off a longer wait, 24 days.

In contrast, Barangay Ginebra and Purefoods are exhausted from surviving separate best-of-five quarterfinal series that both went the distance. The Kings and Tender Juicy Giants have momentum on their side but how much gas is left in their tanks to put up a strong showing in their semifinal openers today?

Top-seeded Alaska takes on No. 4 Ginebra in the first semifinal pairing while No. 2 San Miguel Beer faces No. 3 Purefoods in the other series.

The Kings just became the third PBA team ever to win a best-of-five series from 0-2 down and they’re on a high. Coach Joseph Uichico never imagined crawling out of a deep hole and beating Talk ‘N’ Text three in a row to arrange the appointment with the Aces. But as Rudy Tomjanovich once said, you never underestimate the heart of a champion. And there isn’t a heart bigger than Ginebra’s in the league.

For the record, the two other teams that recovered from 0-2 to win a best-of-five series were Crispa in 1975 and Purefoods in 1990. The Redmanizers accomplished the feat in the Third Conference All-Filipino finals against Toyota while Purefoods rose from the grave to upset Alaska in the 1990 Third Conference finals. Coincidentally, the same coach made it happen for Crispa and Purefoods – Baby Dalupan.

Playing with their trademark never-say-die spirit, the Kings scuttled the Tropang Texters, 113-100, in Game 5 last Sunday and brought 21,422 fans on their feet as they delivered a strong message to Alaska to watch out in the semis. Ginebra shot the lights out of the Araneta Coliseum and hit 14-of-30 triples compared to only 5-of-28 by Talk ‘N’ Text. Additionally, the Kings had the edge in rebounds, 63-51, assists, 24-8, free throws converted, 21-17, and blocked shots, 6-2.

The Texters enjoyed a whopping advantage in turnover points, 19-0, as they committed only six miscues to Ginebra’s 16 but because they were outrebounded and outshot, it didn’t make a difference.

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Ginebra and Alaska split their elimination series. The Aces drew first blood, 105-96, and the Kings took the rematch, 93-90. Ginebra forward Willie Wilson played two years for Alaska and knows coach Tim Cone’s system inside out – that will help as the Kings try to untangle the triangle.

Ronald Tubid will likely take on Willie Miller in a defensive matchup reminiscent of his recent lockdown on Mac-Mac Cardona. Eric Menk and Enrico Villanueva will alternate on Sonny Thoss in the middle while Celino Cruz will cross swords with L. A. Tenorio at the point guard position. Tony de la Cruz will likely shadow emerging superstar J. C. Intal in another intriguing one-on-one sideshow.

In a long-drawn series, depth is vital and if Uichico can count on Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa to play quality minutes off the bench, Ginebra will be tough to beat. That’s not even factoring in Cyrus Baguio and Sunday Salvacion.

Alaska’s ability to play precision basketball is its major asset. The Aces are disciplined, focused and unflinching. They’re not fazed by Ginebra’s crowd support. They’ll execute like they’re supposed to whether they’ve got no fans or all the fans in the stadium. Cone has high hopes that Larry Fonacier, Mark Borboran and Jeff Cariaso will step up. If the relievers contribute, they’ll put pressure on the Fast and the Furious who’re still buying time to recover fully from injuries.

Alaska leads the league in least turnovers and assists, indicators of their precise execution in the half-court. The Aces are last in fastbreak points so Ginebra’s feat of allowing the least transition baskets doesn’t mean much.

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In the other series, Purefoods will attempt to impose its defensive will on San Miguel which ended the eliminations with back-to-back losses. The Giants are deadliest when their defense is clicking. If Purefoods can limit the Beermen to 80 points or less, the probability is the Giants will win.

But it’s not easy holding down San Miguel. The Beermen are No. 1 in rebounding, free throw percentage, steals, blocked shots and turnover points. The stats show that San Miguel is a blue-collar team that wins on effort, not just talent. If the Beermen dominate the boards, Purefoods will be hard pressed to dictate tempo and keep the scores low.

The matchups are made in heaven. Fans can’t wait to find out if Rico Maierhofer’s length and Kerby Raymundo’s all-around play will bother Jay Washington or if Marc Pingris and Niño Canaleta can neutralize Arwind Santos or if Denok Miranda and Dondon Hontiveros can muzzle James Yap or if Mike Cortez can outsmart Roger Yap and Paul Artadi or if Rafi Reavis can use his quickness to get away from Dorian Peña. That’s not all.

Lordy Tugade, Don Allado, the comebacking P. J. Simon, Danny Seigle and Jonas Villanueva are also expected to play key roles in the series.

San Miguel blasted Purefoods twice in the eliminations, 92-76 and 87-80. But that’s no indication of a trend in the semifinals. The Giants looked awesome in their three quarterfinal wins over Rain Or Shine with King James erupting for 31 in Game 1 and 28 in Game 5. The revelation is Roger Yap who has scored in double figures in his last nine games and is a terror in defense. Cortez and Villanueva will have their hands full trying to contain Roger while the other Yap makes life miserable for Miranda and Hontiveros.