Rico Maierhofer of Purefoods (middle) battles for the rebound against San MIguel's Arwind Santos and Dorian Peña in their PBA game last Sunday. The Beermen won, 87-80. (Photo by ALI VICOY)

KFC-PBA Philippine Cup
Alaska (10-1)
San Miguel (10-3)
Talk ’N Text (8-4)
Ginebra (8-4)
Purefoods (8-5)
Sta. Lucia (6-5)
Burger King (4-9)
Rain or Shine (3-9)
Barako Bull (2-10)
Coca-Cola (2-11)

Games Wednesday (Araneta Coliseum)
5:00 p.m. — Alaska vs Talk ’N Text
7:30 p.m. — Sta. Lucia vs Ginebra

Keeping themselves focused on the game is what Alaska head coach Tim Cone wants from his players as the league-leading Aces try to move closer to clinching one of the outright Final Four slots in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup.

Alaska meets defending champion Talk ’N Text in the curtain raiser at 5 p.m. before Barangay Ginebra tangles with Sta. Lucia Realty in the 7:30 main game this Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Cone’s team is on top of the standings with a 10-1 card, followed by San Miguel Beer at 10-3. Ginebra and TNT share third at 8-4 and Purefoods is fifth with an 8-5 slate. Sta. Lucia (6-5), Burger King (4-9), Rain or Shine (3-9), Barako Bull (2-10) and Coca-Cola (2-11) occupy the bottom half of the 10-team league.

The top two teams after the two-round classification round will move to the semis outright while the third to fifth placers will advance to the quarters. The sixth to ninth teams will play in the knockout wildcard and the 10th finisher will be eliminated.

The Aces are coming off a week-long break after winning their fourth straight by beating SMB in overtime, 122-116.

Alaska downed TNT in their first round meeting, 110-106, last Nov. 20, and Cone expects the same intense competition against the Tropang Texters, who have won back-to-back games against Coke (107-104) and Burger King (115-104).

“This time of the year is always a difficult time to keep your focus on the task at hand,” said Cone, who will rely anew on the savvy playmaking of LA Tenorio and the leadership of former two-time MVP Willie Miller.

Talk ’N Text coach Chot Reyes, on the other hand, said that to avenge that loss to Alaska, they have to double their effort, saying: “We are playing the best team, so it will take nothing less than our best to prove that we can compete with the big boys.”

Like TNT, Ginebra is another team hoping to improve its chances on that automatic seat in the Final Four.

Sta. Lucia is also fresh from a win over Coke (98-92) last Friday and coach Boyet Fernandez hopes that they can carry the momentum from that recent victory.

“This game will be crucial for our team,” he said.

“Winning the game will give us an opportunity to get closer and give ourselves a chance for an outright quarterfinals seat. As we all know, it’s always a tough game if you are playing Ginebra, but we’ll be ready.”