MANILA – San Miguel Beermen aims to move near the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown when it faces Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in Game 4 of their Final series Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With a 2-1 series lead after its 132-94 Game 3 win Wednesday night, Beermen has a golden opportunity to complete its title-retention bid and move a conference closer to completing a Grand Slam.
But putting Kings away will be easier said than done – Ginebra is expected to go all-out after suffering its worst loss in PBA Finals history – Beermen star June Mar Fajardo said.
“Kasi alam naman natin gaano kalakas iyong Ginebra. Natambakan nga nila kami noong Game 1, kaya nila ulit gawin iyon,” Fajardo said. “Sa side naman namin, hindi na siguro namin hahayaan iyon. Siguro natuto na kami sa Game 1.”
“Napaghandaan lang namin ng maayos (noong Games 2 and 3), and then nandoon iyong intensity. Hindi namin afford mag-relax para next game so dapat same intensity pa rin,” he added.
Fajardo, who is favored to receive his seventh PBA Best Player of the Conference award Friday night, could achieve a personal milestone in Game 4 as he is 14 points away from joining the league’s 5,000-point club.
Renaldo Balkman, who sustained a cut from a wayward hit by Kings’ Greg Slaughter in Game 3, said there is still work cut out for Beermen to be able to complete its title defense.
“As we keep on moving forward, we keep playing like that. I’m going to get what I want. But at the same time, it’s one game at a time,” said Balkman, one of the contenders for the Best Import award.
“You can’t go out there and say, the next 10 plays. No. It’s one game at a time, and continue to be professional,” added the former NBA player. “We still have to work hard in the next two games.”/PN
