Title favorite, crowd favorite start duel

MANILA, Philippines -  Talk N Text versus Ginebra San Miguel – the three-peat king against the people’s champ in a dream matchup.

The Tropang Texters are the odds-on picks while the Gin Kings are the sentimental favorites as they clash in the opener of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinal showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

The Texters and the Kings make up one side of the elite, interesting Final Four series, with the other pitting elimination-round topnotcher Alaska Milk and titleholder San Mig Coffee.

Both faceoffs abound with subplots making each series a must-see for the PBA fans.

The Alaska-San Mig Coffee showdown, featuring the Aces against former coach Tim Cone, starts tomorrow also at the Big Dome.

A curious side battle here is that of coaches Norman Black and Alfrancis Chua, former partners with Sta. Lucia Realty who’ve gone separate ways.

Black is looking to lead the Texters to a second straight finals while Chua hopes to keep his Cinderella ride with the Kings.

“We recognized Ginebra as a dangerous opponent. With their solid play and the crowd support, we expect them to be tough,” said Black.

“(Vernon) Macklin and LA (Tenorio) will be major headaches but we will also not take the others for granted because their support cast has been playing well,” Black added. “For us, major concerns will be our defensive rebounds and keeping (Jerome) Jordan out of foul trouble.”

“The guys trust one another. Even then, we have to double the energy and heart that we showed against Rain or Shine to beat Talk n Text,” said Chua.

“They’re tall, quick and can shoot from the outside but we know their game, and we intend to stop their bread-and-butter plays – pick and roll, pick and pop,” Chua also said.

The Kings still have manpower problem minus main guy Mark Caguioa and forward Billy Mamaril. Caguioa’s status remains day-to-day as he’s still nursing an injured MCL (medial collateral ligament).