Beermen, Hotshots seek finals rematch
Games today (MOA Arena) 3 p.m. – Phoenix vs Magnolia / 6:30 p.m. – Ginebra vs San Miguel Is it time to reignite an old sibling rivalry that brought forth seven games of tooth-and-nail fighting back in the 2019 duel for PBA Philippine Cup supremacy?
Sister teams Magnolia and San Miguel Beer are certainly poised to make this happen as they seek entry to the Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup finals today at the MOA Arena.
The Hotshots look to end the fairytale run of Phoenix via a sweep of their race-to-three semifinal tussle at 3 p.m. while the Beermen attempt the killer blow on beleaguered champion Ginebra at 6:30 p.m.
Meet this Game 3 objective and the two San Miguel Corp. clubs are off to a return engagement nearly four years after their previous marathon fight for the pro league’s crown jewel. The Beermen won that one, 4-3, to secure an All-Filipino “five-peat” feat that also included a 4-1 conquest of the Hotshots in the 2018 edition.
“We’ll try our best to finish it on Sunday. But it’s always the hardest part – closing out the series. So we need to be fully locked in,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero, whose wards relied on endgame poise to rally to an 82-78 squeaker over the Fuel Masters and get on the hill Friday night.
Victolero’s crew of Tyler Bey, Paul Lee, Jio Jalalon, Mark Barroca and Calvin Abueva are out to make it to the finals for the first time since posting a runner-up finish to TNT in the 2021 Philippine Cup in Bacolor.
Meanwhile, SMB’s new “Death Squad” of Bennie Boatwright, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and Don Trollano, who went 2-0 with a 106-96 Game 2 verdict, are looking to reach the title series again after the franchise’s triumph in last season’s All-Filipino.
For Jorge Gallent and his troops, there’s also the bonus of getting even with the Gin Kings, who blanked them, 3-0, in the Last 4 of the previous Governors’ Cup.
“That thing (revenge) doesn’t actually cross our minds. We’re just taking it one game at a time. If it’s there, it’s there. If it’s not, we’re just going to work harder,” said Gallent.