CLEARLY the heavy favorite again, San Miguel Beer looks to put Alaska on the ropes when it goes for a 2-0 advantage in their best-of-five semifinals duel in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Leading 1-0 in the series, the Beermen eye on taking a step closer to the finals when they collide with the depleted Aces again in Game 2 tonight at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In fine form, San Miguel posted a textbook rout of Alaska in Game 1, 92-79, last Saturday night to take the early edge.
The Beermen didn’t need super games from June Mar Fajardo and Renaldo Balkman as everyone in their potent crew stepped up in the easy opening game win.
With three straight wins and with the upper hand, San Miguel coach Leo Austria likes where his squad is right now.
“We put ourselves in a good position by winning Game 1,” said Austria. “We want to start the series strong to force them (Alaska) to make adjustments.”
Still missing the services of suspended star Calvin Abueva, the Aces are still unsure whether they will Chris Banchero or not.
The league’s top assist man missed Game 1 as he flew to the States to attend to some urgent family matters.
That clearly affected Alaska’s play as the Aces, save for Diamon Simpson, were unable to hit the mark.
Leading Best Player of the Conference candidate Vic Manuel, who had 11 straight games of 20 or more points, was limited by the stingy San Miguel defense to only 16 markers.