Games this Friday (Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — Alaska vs Talk ’N Text
7:30 p.m. — San Miguel vs B-Meg Derby Ace

Alaska Milk hopes to sustain the momentum of their gutsy win in Game 1 as it goes for a 2-0 lead over the top-seeded Talk ’N Text squad in their best-of-seven semifinal series in the PBA Fiesta Cup this Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Given little chance to upstage the Tropang Texters, the Aces surprised everybody last Wednesday when they brought down the team feared most for its star-studded line-up by posting a 101-88 victory.

Even Cone himself was surprised. “It was certainly unexpected,” said Cone.

But for those who watched the game, it was nothing special only that the Aces played as one fighting unit compared to the Tropang Texters who had a hard time shaking off the cob webs of a long rest.

Cone, however, expects his former protégé Chot Reyes of TNT to bounce back strong.

“We need to find a way to follow it up but if we can stay focused on the defensive end, we believe there’s no reason we can’t,” said Cone.

Game time is at 5 p.m. after which San Miguel Beer also shoots for a similar 2-0 lead against sister-team B-Meg Derby Ace at 7:30 p.m.

Reyes said they have to play with lots of urgency to avoid getting into a 0-2 hole.

“Now we really know we’re in the semifinals,” said Reyes, who added that former MVP Kelly Williams has to bounce back from a mediocre performance.

The 6-foot-7 Williams had only three points and a rebound in 15 minutes of action.

“Kelly needs to get his game back and I need to coach better for us to compete in Game 2. Our guards also need to contain LA, while our big guys need to contain their bigs,” said Reyes.

Like Reyes, Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio appears to be tormented after his squad was manhandled by the Beermen in Game 1, 104-88.

To get back in the thick of things, Gregorio plans to treat Game 2 as a do-or-die match.

“It’s almost a must-win situation for us,” Gregorio said.

Rattled by San Miguel’s sticky defense, the Llamados were contained in the third quarter where the Beermen outscored them, 35-13, to rip the game wide open, 79-57, going into the final 12 minutes.

“We should not allow ourselves to be buried under a 0-2 hole. While we acknowledged the fact that they came into the game with fresher legs (in Game 1), we still must find ways to keep in step with them the whole game,” said Gregorio.

“Our defense leaves a lot to be desired as well,” he said. “The third quarter meltdown (35-13) pretty much was the story of Game 1. Bad shot selection combined with turnovers resulted to series of dunks totally unacceptable in the playoffs.”

The Beermen also controlled the rebounding, 48-34.

On offense, however, despite getting 24 points from James Yap and 23 from import Tony Washam, Gregorio said that they have to be more active.

“Execution is critical. We must take a high percentage shots and take care of the ball to prevent them from running fast breaks and scoring easy baskets.”