Petron, San Mig begin title showdown in PBA tonight

Both with a good push in the semifinals then a welcome rest, Petron Blaze and San Mig Coffee are expected to come out strong and figure in slambang battle right in the opener of their PLDT Telpad PBA Governors best- ofseven titular playoff at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City tonight.

The consensus is that it’s a toss- up between two teams both with highly formidable lineups but with contrasting styles of play.

The team which gets to impose its game is likely to be Rain or Shine’s successor as ruler of the seasonending tourney.

The Boosters, dangerous with their uptempo game, and the Mixers, thriving on a disciplined halfcourt game, begin their series at 8:00 tonight.

At the half, San Mig Coffee and Barangay Ginebra dispute the rights for the top pick in the coming Rookie Draft. The Mixers’ and the Kings’ cracks at the top pick originally belonged to Globalport and Air21, respectively. The rights were transferred on previous trade deals.

Meanwhile, Sports5 officials announced they’re moving the telecast of the finals series over to TV5 with delayed airing over Aksyon TV.

Coaches Tim Cone of San Mig Coffee and Gee Abanilla of Petron Blaze, in chase of a special place in league history, both expressed guarded optimism in their battle.

“We are the underdogs in this thing, but we’re ready,” said Cone.“Petron hasn’t really had a hard time. They’ve been in smooth sailing. They’re really gonna be a tough opponent for us. We’ll be the underdogs, but we’ll take on that and go at them,” Cone also said.

“If anybody should be the underdog in the series, it should be me,” said Abanilla, pointing out he’s a rookie coach engaging in a duel of wits a veteran tactician with 14 titles under his credit.“It’s good that I have a staff which is able and gives me great support, and that should lessen my disadvantage. But coach Tim’s experience in this thing (finals) is a huge plus for them,” Abanilla added.

The two, however, agreed they both have deep, talented manpower ready to plunge into battle.

They also both believe that their respective semifinal grind helped them prepare for the title playoff.

“Admittedly, I have a good team. Junmar is developing to a kind of player we envisioned to be. We have a lot of other guys. But talent just gives you some games. You need chemistry to win championship,” said Abanilla.

“We’ve had a good run. And good thing we survived the tough Rain or Shine side. That series toughened us up for the finals,” he added.

“I think the Meralco series prepared us for this,” Cone said. “We’ve got some edges we can rely on and it’s now a matter of using them and finding ways to keep Petron out of their comfort zone.”

In the end, it might well come down on who can impose their game on one another.—