MANILA – San Miguel Beermen begins its quest for another PBA title when it battles Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in Game 1 of their Commissioner’s Cup Final series Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Game time is 7 p.m. Ginebra, for its part, hopes to finally score one against Beermen after losing their previous title face-offs.
San Miguel head coach Leo Austria expects the series to be tough even as he claims the Beermen have yet to show their true potential, citing their poor start in the conference.
“We are ready whatever kind of resistance we may get,” said Austria. “I admire (Ginebra). They are like a well-oiled machine. After a 1-5 elimination, they lost only once. I think that’s a big morale-booster for the team.”
Beermen reached the Commissioner’s Cup Finals for the second straight year by beating Alaska Aces 3-1 while Kings eliminated Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 3-1.
“We may have won a number of championships but entering the PBA Finals does not guarantee a championship for us,” added Austria, who has yet to lose in his six PBA Finals appearance as coach.
Kings head coach Tim Cone, for his part, said he sees his players as “underdogs” heading into the race-to-four finale but who want their chances against the defending champion.
“I think San Miguel has the edge and experience and confidence and knowing what it takes to win,” Cone said. “But I think we (can) match up with them on a man-for-man basis.”
“I think it is going to be a tough series,” added the 20-time PBA champion coach. “Most series go long because both teams in the championship are good teams. They’re going to find ways to win. So do we.”
This marks the first time Kings and Beermen are facing each other in a championship series since last year’s PBA Philippine Cup, where Beermen defeated Kings in five games.
Leading Beermen in the Friday game night are Renaldo Balkman, June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter, Christian Standhardinger, Kelly Nabong, and Brian Heruela.
Bannering the Kings are Justin Brownlee, LA Tenorio, Gregory Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar, Solomon Mercado, Scottie Thompson, Joe Devance, Kevin Ferrer, Jeffrei Chan, and Mark Caguioa./PN
