Games today:
(Philsports Arena)
4:30 p.m. — San Miguel vs Bay Area
6:45 p.m. — Ginebra vs Magnolia
The Final Four of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup has morphed into an intriguing two-part series documenting the meteoric rise of a visiting super team and a heated encounter between two sister squads.
That solid unit is Bay Area, a team mentored by a coach who has strong links to Olympic basketball, and one that is on the verge of ousting the league’s flagship franchise.
Known as the Dragons, Bay Area holds an imposing 2-0 series lead over San Miguel in their race-to-three clash and is on course for a place in the best-of-seven finals against the survivor of the Magnolia-Barangay Ginebra semis showdown.
Still, it would be foolish to count the Beermen out.
The defending champion Beermen were able to dominate the Dragons for 44 minutes of their series opener before the Hong Kong-based squad found the resolve to fight back and pull off a tense 103-102 win.
In Game 2, the Dragons showed total domination and put away the Beermen early on their way to a 114-95 win.
Tonight, Bay Area will prove that it has San Miguel all figured out at the Philsports in Pasig in a bid to become the first foreign team to win a title in over four decades.
Meanwhile, Magnolia and Ginebra go for a crucial 2-1 series advantage in what is being seen as a game that will be decided in the dying minutes or seconds.
Games 1 and 2 had an average winning margin of two points.
In Game 2, Paul Lee came to Magnolia’s rescue with a bank shot to give the Hotshots a 96-95 win.
In the series opener, the Gin Kings eked out an 87-84 triumph as the Hotshots played without an import for the most part of the second half.
Magnolia has been in the semifinal round for the fourth straight conference, but is determined to go all the way this time.
The Hotshots were able advance to the championship round last season, but lost to TNT in five games when Chito Victolero’s players got injured one after the other.
Stopping Ginebra won’t be easy.
Five times in the import-laden conference, Brownlee succeeded in carrying the Gin Kings all the way to the top.
He has another opportunity to add another feather in his cap and tie Sean Chambers as the import with the greatest number of championships in the PBA.
For sure, it’s going to be another explosive night for cage fans.
