SMB, Alaska renew rivalry
After six conferences, San Miguel Beer and Alaska Milk finally find each other face-to-face in a playoff battle once again, bringing back to mind the epic “Beeracle run” of the Beermen at the expense of the Aces in the 2016 Philippine Cup Finals.
San Miguel and Alaska clash in their side of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup bestof-five semifinals beginning at 6:40 p.m. tonight at the MOAArena in Pasay City. And it’s a playoff series that carries a lot of weight.
The Beermen are rumbling towards a possible second jewel to a possible grand slam while the Aces finally have this opportunity to erase the bitter memory of their infamous final breakdown in 2016.
The Aces then went a game away from winning the all-Filipino crown with what then looked an unbridgeable 3-0 gap. But the Beermen chipped away at the Aces’ lead one game after another, and completed a title run to remember in the end.
This series also serves as a showdown to determine the Best Player of the Conference between Vic Manuel and June Mar Fajardo, the two leading contenders for the coveted individual award.
It’s an intriguing playoff duel that decides whether San Miguel roars on with its grand slam drive or Alaska ends SMB’s domination of their rivalry in the last few years to keep its chase of its own title aspiration.
“It’s very exciting and could be a long one,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.