Games Wednesday (Astrodome)
5 p.m. — Barako Bull vs Coca-Cola
7:30 p.m. — Alaska vs Burger King

Alaska Milk goes for the second outright semifinals seat while Barako Bull fights for survival this Wednesday when they face separate rivals in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup reaches its penultimate day at the Astrodome in Pasay City.

The Energy Boosters collide with the Coca-Cola Tigers in the first game at 5 p.m. after which the Aces go for win No. 13 against the Burger King Whoppers in the main game at 7:30.

Idle San Miguel Beer, with its 13-5 record with one loss under protest, has clinched the first automatic semifinals berth.

Burger King and Coca-Cola, currently tied for seventh with similar 5-12 cards, secured berths in the knockout wildcard.

The game has no-bearing for Coke and Burger King, but has a lot for both Alaska (12-4) and Barako Bull (3-14), which is hoping to win and to stay alive for the last wildcard spot.

A win for the Energy Boosters and a loss by Rain or Shine (4-13) to the Aces on Friday will result in a playoff for the last slot in the wildcard.

While even a loss to Burger King will keep Alaska in the running for the second outright semis berth, Alaska coach Tim Cone said that they’d rather make it today against the Whoppers whom they bested, 87-73, in the first round.

“For us, it’s like Game 6 in a seven-game series and we’re leading 3-2,” Cone said. “We certainly don’t want to go to a Game 7. We need to finish our run to the semis now.”

Alaska will come into the court nursing a humiliating 77-94 loss to Purefoods last Friday.

For coach Yeng Guiao and Burger King, which absorbed a 104-122 setback against Barangay Ginebra, they certainly want to go to the knockout wildcard with some kind of momentum and beating the Aces will certainly boost their morale.

A loss by Alaska to BK as well as to Rain or Shine will force a playoff with either Ginebra, which finished with a 12-6 record, or the 11-6 Purefoods provided it beats Sta. Lucia Realty on Friday in Antipolo City.

Predicted to be exciting is the match between Coke and Barako Bull, which lost, 86-108, to the Realtors last Sunday, giving free passage to the Tigers and Whoppers to the wildcard phase.

“We have to win if we want to stay alive, if we want to play in the playoffs,” said Barako Bull coach Leo Isaac, whose team lost to Sta. Lucia in overtime, 77-80.

Meanwhile, the PBA, at presstime, is still discussing the protest filed by San Miguel Beer last Monday against defending champion Talk ’N Text for wearing the “wrong” uniform prior to their out-of-town game in Zamboanga City last Saturday.

Signed by SMB coach Siot Tanquincen, the Beermen questioned why the PBA Commissioner’s Office gave the Tropang Texters one hour ‘grace period’, starting the game at 6 p.m. instead of the original 5 p.m. schedule.