PBA Finals in Palawan

No matter how far the semifinals extend, Puerto Princesa will host a leg of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals on Sunday, May 1, and it will be either Game 2 or 3.

It won’t be the first time that a Finals game is set out of Metro Manila. Victorias in Negros Occidental hosted Game 1 of the Philippine Cup Finals between Talk ‘N’ Text and San Miguel Beer last conference. There have been five Finals games held in the provinces, a deliberate attempt by the PBA to share the excitement of the championship series with out-of-town fans. The count excludes a Finals game once hosted by Antipolo.

If the semifinals end tonight, Game 1 of the Finals between Talk ‘N’ Text and Barangay Ginebra will begin on Sunday, April 23. Game 2 will be on Wednesday, April 27. Then, the two teams take a break on Friday and resume hostilities in Game 3 on Sunday, May 1, in Puerto Princesa, the site of the PBA All-Star Weekend last year.

If the semifinals stretch to a Game 5 either in the Talk ‘N’ Text-Air 21 or the Ginebra-Smart Gilas series, the Finals begin on Friday, April 29, and Puerto Princesa will host Game 2 on Sunday, May 1. If the semifinals end on Easter Sunday, the Finals start on Wednesday, April 27. Game 2 will be played on Friday, April 29, with Game 3 in Puerto Princesa on Sunday, May 1.

The break in the Finals on Friday, April 29, will only happen if the semifinals end tonight. In three possible situations, Puerto Princesa has two chances to host Game 3 and only one to host Game 2. Mayor Edward Hagedorn will once again roll out the red carpet for the PBA.

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If Talk ‘N’ Text and Ginebra square off in the Finals, it will be only their second meeting in a title series. The first was in the 2004-05 Philippine Cup where Ginebra, coached by Siot Tanquingcen, defeated the Tropang Texters, 4-2. Only Jimmy Alapag remains from the Talk ‘N’ Text team that lost to Ginebra while the Kings holdovers are Mark Caguioa, Jay-Jay Helterbrand (injured this conference) and Eric Menk. The Texters coach was Joel Banal, now with Alaska.

This conference, Talk ‘N’ Text and Ginebra have played each other once with the Texters barely winning, 102-99, despite clear advantages in several statistical departments, including total rebounds, 58-43, offensive rebounds, 16-6, assists, 26-19, free throw attempts, 28-21 and three-point makes, 10-7. The Kings had the edge in bench output, 51-37, field goal percentage, .446 to .420 and turnovers, 11-13. If the Texters and Kings advance to the Finals, it’s expected to be a closely-contested series.

Nate Brumfield fired 26 points and Caguioa 25 to lead the Ginebra scorers while Paul Harris hit 23 for Talk ‘N’ Text. Six Texters scored in twin digits, a testament of coach Chot Reyes’ philosophy of equal distribution of wealth in transforming the Tropa into the league’s No. 1 offensive team. The balanced attack was a key to Talk ‘N’ Text’s win.

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Meanwhile, the PBA clarified that the seating capacity of the Boracay Eco-Village Resort and Convention Center (BERCC) is 2,300. The stadium will be the venue of the PBA All-Star Skills Challenge events and the Rookies vs. Sophomores Blitz Game on Friday, May 20, and the All-Star Game on Sunday, May 22. Cre8 Events Asia president Carlo Quevada said the fully air-conditioned, professional-standard BERCC has been inspected and cleared for playing by the PBA. Cre8 Events Asia bought the All-Star rights from the PBA and is organizing the extravaganza on May 18-23.

Quevada said the celebrity reality adventure race scheduled on Saturday, May 21, will be called the “Creality Race,” a proprietary concept hatched by Cre8 Events Asia. It will start at 10:15 a.m. and could go on until 6 p.m. or when a winner is declared from among 10 competing teams. Each team is made up of a Mutya Ng Pilipinas beauty or a showbiz celebrity and a PBA player or legend. Confirmed to participate in the “Creality Race” so far are PBA legends Alvin Patrimonio, Allan Caidic and Kenneth Duremdes.