Aces seek to repeat sweep of Gin Kings

MANILA, Philippines -Alaska Milk seeks to maintain its mastery of Barangay Ginebra, going for a second straight playoff matchup sweep of the Kings today for the first seat in the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference Final Four at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces are out to beat the Kings for a seventh consecutive playoff game to arrange a best-of-seven semifinals showdown with elimination-round topnotcher the Talk n Text Tropang Texters.

Coach Tim Cone and his chargers swept past the Kings in the semis in the last Philippine Cup.

In the last three Fiesta Conferences, the Aces have won eight of their last 10 games against the Kings to underscore their domination of the crowd favorites.

Still, the Aces are taking the Kings with a lot of caution in their 7:30 p.m. tiff.

“The first two games were both a battle all the way through. Games One and Two could have gone either way, and Game Three could also go either way,” said Cone.

“Ginebra is Ginebra. They’re always a tough opponent,” added Cone, expecting the Kings to wage a tougher fight in Game Three.

“We want to get through tomorrow (today) to get to a Friday game,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

Ginebra had been in the same situation in the Philippine Cup quarterfinals versus the Talk n Text. The Kings managed to survive to advance to the semis versus the San Miguel Beermen.

In the long history of the local pro league, only two other teams had pulled the same trick. Crispa did it versus Toyota in the 1975 Third Conference finale then Purefoods did the same versus Alaska in the 1990 Third Conference finals.

B-MEG Derby Ace and Rain or Shine collide earlier at 5 p.m., fighting for the pivotal 2-1 lead in their own best-of-five quarterfinals showdown.

Both teams are confident they can handle one another in the series determining which will advance to the semis versus SMB.

The Derby Ace-RoS series has also been close with the Llamados pulling through in Game One then the Elasto Painters getting even in the next game.

RoS coach Caloy Garcia said they would have a strong chance if they can minimize James Yap’s production.

“He’s great in the first two games. Hopefully, he starts to miss his shots in the third game,” said Garcia.

Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio said they’re treating Game Three with utmost urgency, aware that the winner in this game gets the momentum and big psychological edge going to Game Four.

“I called practice (Monday) just to do some extra shooting. We did a decent job on defense but our shooting was off (Sunday). With the time that we rendered in shooting, I’m convinced that our shooting will be more accurate today,” said Gregorio.