IN A SUDDEN, surprise twist, the two bye teams at the end of the eliminations are now on the brink of bidding the tournament goodbye.
Early quarterfinalists San Miguel Beermen and Alaska Aces face virtual elimination game against separate opponents today in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen, which rampaged in the elims with a 16-2 card, go up against one of the teams responsible for their rare losses — Talk ‘N Text — while the Aces meet the Coca-Cola Tigers, the same team they beat in a playoff to gain automatic slot in the quarters.
With only three games on tap for each team in the quarters, two losses wouldn’t exactly mean outright ouster. But certainly a team will need all the luck to get through.
The best a team with two losses can hope for is to forge a three-way tie for second and salvage a playoff with superior tiebreak points.
The top two teams from each group after the singleround robin phase will advance to the crossover semifinals, which will be a pair of best-of-three duels. The winning semifinalists will clash in the best-offive championship series.
Alaska lost to Barangay Ginebra Kings at the start of the quarterfinals last Wednesday while SMB bowed to the Red Bull Barako later that day.
The Beermen and the Phone Pals split their meetings in the eliminations while the Aces hold a 2-1 edge over the Tigers this conference counting their playoff encounter.
Meanwhile, league commissioner Noli Eala met yesterday with Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao for over an hour but withheld sanctions until he has assessed the matter with other top league officials.
Guiao was ejected in the second half of the Barako’s win over the Beermen and later lashed out at the way the game was called, saying ‘officiating (in the league) sucks,’ in an interview.
The fiery Red Bull coach was fined
R20,000 late in the elims for a similar offense and faces a heavier penalty this time. Sources said the fine could be as much as R50,000 along with a one-game suspension.
Eala is set to announce his decision today.
"More reasonable than the ongoing congressional canvass," was how Guiao described his meeting with Eala.
Art Long and Danny Ildefonso, among the favorites to bag the best import and best player of the conference awards, respectively, will again lead the Beermen’s cause. But the key for the Beermen could be Danny Seigle, who didn’t play in their loss to TNT because of groin injury.
Seigle used to be the focal point of the Beermen’s offense and from the looks of it he still has the ability to light up the scoreboard. But in their recent loss, Seigle seldom touched the ball in scoring positions.
The SMB star forward, though, is expected to assert himself more on offense in this critical moment. It’s crunch time for the Beermen and it’s time for the four-time Finals MVP to explode.
