Beermen begin quest for twice-to-beat quarters edge

Games Friday (Cuneta Astrodome)

4:30 p.m. – San Miguel vs Blackwater

7 p.m. – NLEX vs Meralco

MANILA, Philippines – Titleholder San Miguel Beer, back in the lead following a gripping 77-76 victory over Magnolia the last time, presses its bid for a Top Two finish in the eliminations as it goes up against Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome Friday night.

The Beermen try to sustain the momentum of their grind-out win over the Hotshots in their last four games in the elims in chase of a twice-to-beat privilege in the quarterfinals.

June Mar Fajardo and his teammates are fancied to nail win No. 7 in their 7 p.m. setto versus the Elite who struggled without a win in their last four outings.

The Beermen pace the field with a 6-1 card with the Alaska Milk Aces and the Magnolia Hotshots right behind them at 6-2. All these three teams are assured of a playoff round entry.

Blackwater is in a precarious spot along with Meralco at joint ninth at 2-5.

The Bolts play a virtual must-win game versus the NLEX Road Warriors at 4:30 p.m.

“I don’t have much to say that’s not obvious. It’s important that we play with energy and a sense of urgency and do whatever it takes to get a win,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

The Bolts, the Governors Cup losing finalists, haven’t beaten a top-caliber team this conference, with their two wins coming at the expense of expansion ball clubs Blackwater and Kia.

The Road Warriors (3-4) have been doing better. And they’re upbeat coming from their 81-78 upset of the Barangay Ginebra Kings Saturday.

“We just put an effort and sheer determination and some breaks in the endgame,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao. “The important thing is we break our losing streak and we give ourselves a chance to be in the fight.”

Guiao also credited some shakeup in their routines in winning over the Gin Kings.

“We don’t usually practice in the morning of a game day. (Against Ginebra) we did some shoot-around. We did some walkthroughs. That’s unusual because we usually want to get rested before the game. We did that just to have a different routine,” he said.

Guiao commends his players for the effort they continue to put in practice.

“We have a positive attitude because of that effort in our game preparations,” said Guiao.