Games today (MOA Arena)
5:15 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs San Mig Coffee
7:30 p.m. – Talk n Text vs Alaska Milk
MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text and Rain or Shine try to build on their triumphs Wednesday and move two games up on Alaska Milk and San Mig Coffee, respectively, at resumption of the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals tonight at the MOA Arena in Pasay.
With his team barely pulling through Wednesday, Talk n Text coach Norman Black has become more concerned that they have a job cut out for them versus Alaska.
With a more comfortable win over San Mig Coffee, Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao’s concern is how to be consistent on what they want to execute on the floor.
The Aces and the Mixers, meanwhile, are out to even things up.
The Elasto Painters and the Mixers mix it up at 5:15 p.m. while the Tropang Texters and the Aces tangle at 7:30 p.m. in the tourney’s last double-header before featuring single game per playdate starting on Christmas Day.
The Tropang Texters went through a wringer, needing a three-pointer from Ryan Reyes in the last 14.3 seconds then a key stop to salvage a 66-65 win over the Aces Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Jeff Chan broke off his personal slump and the whole Rain or Shine sustained the momentum of its quarterfinals win over Barangay Ginebra as the E-Painters drubbed the Mixers, 91-83, in their side of the Final Four showdown.
“It’s a long series and it’s just the first game. But you win the first, and you’re close to 70-percent chance of winning. We want to be in that position,” said Guiao.
“You want to have any edge that you can get. But it’s still the same because it’s just one game. You have to be consistent. That’s our problem against Ginebra (in the quarters). That would remain a concern till the end if we’re lucky to make it all the way,” Guiao added.
Black braces for a tough outing, aware that things won’t get easier in their duel with the Aces. In fact, he was back on the drawing board right after their escape act Wednesday night.
“Obviously, they did a lot of good things and we have to go back and take a look at the game,” said Black.
Former TnT coach Chot Reyes, now concentrating on his job as national head coach, himself was not comfortable with what he saw in Game One.
“It may be 1-0 but methinks this low scoring clip favors the Aces,” said Reyes on his Twitter account.
The Alaska Aces saw positive signs on their tough losing stand. “Overall, it gives me hope,” said coach Luigi Trillo.
San Mig coach Tim Cone admitted being outplayed by Rain or Shine in Game One but promised of a fightback even with James Yap a doubtful starter tonight.
Yap hurt his knee late in the game Wednesday, causing him to miss the last two minutes.
“RoS got everything they wanted to get. We just couldn’t get them out of their comfort zone, and we ended up playing a very subpar game. But our guys will respond and put a better effort together for Game Two. The key right now is to just getting even in the series,” said Cone.
Chan bounced back from a 1-of-9 shooting the last time with an 18-point outing, a gritty effort very well complemented by the rest of the fierce-fighting RoS squad as the E-Painters gained the crucial head start in the series.
Chan put in 16 points in the first half, Larry Rodriguez and Ryan Arana took over combining for 18 points in the third quarter then the whole team made the push together in the payoff period.
Paul Lee and Rodriguez finished with 15 points each, Beau Belga wound up with 13 markers, six boards, five assists and two steals while Jervy Cruz added 15 boards and seven points.