Back to the Final Four

After a four-day Holy Week break, it’s back to Final Four hostilities in the PBA Philippine Cup with No. 1 Phoenix taking on No. 5 San Miguel Beer in Game 3 of their best-of-7 series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. Tomorrow night, the other semifinal pairing resumes at the Big Dome with No. 2 Rain Or Shine facing No. 6 Magnolia in Game 4 of their best-of-7 duel.

Both series have been brutally fought. The referees are tolerating a high degree of physicality and blow their whistles only if there is clear contact resulting in an advantage/disadvantage situation. In the playoffs, only the strong survive. It’s how it is in the NBA, it’s the same thing in the PBA.  

What makes both series extremely intriguing is how Phoenix and San Miguel Beer like to play at a high-scoring, frenetic pace and how Rain Or Shine and Magnolia like to grind it out in a defense-oriented, low-scoring style. It’s a perfect match in the finals as either Phoenix or San Miguel Beer will play high-octane and either Rain Or Shine or Magnolia will put a premium on defense. No matter which teams win in the semifinals, the Last Dance will guarantee a clash of styles in defense against offense.

Phoenix is in a virtual must-win predicament in Game 3 tonight. The Pulse Fuel Masters are down, 0-2, and another loss will put coach Louie Alas in a deep hole where to survive, they must win four in a row. In the conference, Phoenix is No. 4 in offense with an average of 94.3 points while San Miguel is No. 2 with 101. In the semis so far, Phoenix is averaging only 85 a game. The Fuel Masters had a golden chance to win Game 2 last Monday and led 75 percent of the way only to lose down the stretch. San Miguel outscored Phoenix, 26-17 in the third period and 29-19 in the fourth to seal it. Marcio Lassiter scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half. Christian Standhardinger was ejected in the second period and JuneMar Fajardo logged 39:34 minutes to finish with 19 points and 18 rebounds. 

J. C. Intal, Jason Perkins, Alex Mallari and Calvin Abueva were a combined 0-of-8 from beyond the arc as San Miguel knocked down more triples, 8-5 and also converted more free throws, 22-15. Phoenix did a good job of bottling up Fajardo in Game 1, limiting him to nine points but the Beermen extracted 40 points from Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross to pick up the slack. It’s the only contest where Fajardo didn’t score in double figures this conference. 

Stopping Fajardo isn’t Phoenix’ only priority. In Game 1, San Miguel turned to its backcourt to win, 100-88. In Game 2, it was Lassiter who led the charge in the fourth quarter with Terrence Romeo contributing in a big way.  For Phoenix to win Game 3, the Fuel Masters must play both ends as a team. Abueva is a heckuva player but won’t be able to win the game by himself. Perkins has to be more aggressive in demanding touches while Wright must keep Lassiter busy on defense. Phoenix has a gaping hole in the middle with Doug Kramer averaging 1.5 points as a starter but if he does his job in defense and rebounding, Alas won’t complain. The key is how Mallari and R. J. Jazul will prevent Cabagnot and Chris Ross from scoring and getting the ball in Fajardo’s hands.

In the other series, Magnolia finally broke into the win column with an 85-74 decision in Game 3 last Tuesday. Every game has been a dogfight and the stats show why. Magnolia is No. 1 in defense, holding opponents to an average of 85.1 points and No. 1 in field goal percentage allowed at 38.8. Rain Or Shine is No. 2 in defense, giving up 87.5 a game and No. 2 in field goal percentage allowed at 39.1. In Game 3, Rain Or Shine seemed on the way to make it 3-0 when the Hotshots stole it in the fourth period behind a 28-11 surge, fueled by Ian Sangalang’s 12 points. Sangalang was scoreless in the first half and finished with 16. The Elasto Painters were on top 65 percent of the game but couldn’t sustain the momentum.

Magnolia coach Chito Victolero knows that his advantage is in the center position with Sangalang, one of only four players to score in twin digits in every game this conference (the others are Mo Tautuaa, Sean Anthony and Wright). Sangalang is too shifty and quick for either Beau Belga or Norbert Torres to stop. Jewel Ponferada could soften up Sangalang with his physical defense but isn’t too reliable on the other end. Victolero likes to interchange Sangalang and Rafi Reavis at four or five, complementing a small backcourt of Jio Jalalon and Mark Barroca or Justin Melton with Paul Lee at the wing. Reavis, 41, has started the last eight games for Magnolia and delivered seven points with 11 boards in Game 3. 

Once Rain Or Shine coach Caloy Garcia figures out how to disengage Sangalang, it will be up to the guards of both teams to decide who survives in the series. Game 4 will be pivotal. If Rain Or Shine wins, a 3-1 advantage will be difficult to overhaul. If Magnolia wins, it’s back to square one and Victolero will surely ride the tide to bring back the spirit that took the Hotshots to the Governors Cup throne last season.

The outcome of the games tonight and tomorrow will paint a clearer picture of how the semfinals could end and which teams are likely to clash in the best-of-seven finals. Game 4 of the Phoenix-San Miguel series will be at the Cuneta Astrodome on Tuesday and if there’s a Game 5, it will again be at Cuneta on Thursday. Game 5 of the Rain Or Shine-Magnolia series will be at Cuneta on Wednesday and if there’s a Game 6, it will be at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday.