Aces defense to strip mighty Beermen bare?

Game today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

7 p.m. – San Miguel vs Alaska

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska Milk has the initiative over a San Miguel Beer side reeling from the trauma of a Game One foldup as the raging Aces seek win No. 2 at resumption of the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

The Beermen unloaded their lethal firepower in the first half Wednesday night but the Aces turned things around in the crunch with some old-fashioned grit and desire for an 88-82 win in overtime.

It remains a classic duel for a team crackling with offense versus a squad living on defense as Alaska and San Miguel square off in Game Two at 7 p.m.

The Aces have proven their 66-63 conquest of the Beermen in the elims was no fluke, overcoming a 22-point deficit in the first quarter with a hard-nosed defense that limited Junemar Fajardo and his teammates to 29 points in the final half.

San Miguel had dropped only one game in its last 11 outings in a dominant run highlighted by a four-game sweep of Talk n Text in the Final Four.

But the Aces unmasked the Beermen with a king-sized effort leading to the biggest win by any team in a finals game in eight years or since Talk n Text battled back from 23 points down in a 95-87 victory over Alaska in Game Three of the 2007 Fiesta Cup Finals.

“We had a good start as we even led by 22. Then I don’t know what happened to us,” said SMB coach Leo  Austria.

“We committed 26 turnovers. How can you win with that,” Austria also said.

The SMB bench chieftain noted Fajardo getting winded at the finish, Alex Cabagnot unable to handle the Alaska press and Chris Lutz having a crucial mental lapse in the closing seconds of regulation play.

 Austria said they have to keep their poise and composure if they’re to survive Alaska’s suffocating pressure defense.

In the off-season, Alaska had hired the services of an Australian coach to prepare the Aces for this particular kind of game. And the Aces continue to work on it in the privacy of their camp.

“We had a good game plan but failed to execute it because of Alaska’s tough defense. We had bad executions, failing to get the ball to Junemar,” said Austria.

Fajardo had limited touches in Game One, making only 14 points on 4-of-9 field goals and 6-of-8 free throws.

Austria also mentioned three players that were “missing links” in their game in the series opener.

He could be referring to guards Cabagnot and Chris Ross and gunner Marcio Lassiter who were held to a measly combined output of 11. Cabagnot and Lassiter average 13.0 and 10.31, respectively, in the tourney.

Also evident was Alaska’s balanced scoring effort with the starters making 27 and the reserves putting in 61.

Meanwhile, Chris Lutz, Fajardo, Arwind Santos and Ronald Pascual carried the load for the Beermen.

In Game Two and for the rest of the series, the key could well be which coach will press the right buttons and which team will play better the entire stretch of the contest.