Defense will surely be at optimum level as San Mig Coffee and Meralco slug it out in their side of the PBA Governors Cup Final Four.
The protagonists are the league’s leading defensive teams at the moment. The question is which one is able to break the other’s defensive wall.
They break the ice in their best-of-five showdown at 6:45 p.m. Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We are conscious on why we are here. Our defense brought us here, and the same toughness will bring us to the next level,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
“We are a defense-minded team. If we’re able to make the stops, we’ll be okay,” said San Mig Coffee import Marqus Blakely.
The Bolts made the Top Four in the elimination round and got past the Globalport Batang Pier in the quarters while holding their opponents to an average of just 84.4 points per game.
The Mixers have also been successful while limiting the production of their foes. They give away 87.6 points per outing.
“Much has been said about coach Tim’s offense, but in reality, his team plays tenacious defense as well. We are neck and neck in a lot of categories on defense, so this series is about finding ways to score against one another,” Gregorio also said.
Needless to say, both would need their offense to work to win the game.
A major cause for concern for San Mig coach Tim Cone is the loss of gunner Allein Maliksi on an MCL injury suffered versus Alaska Milk Friday.
“That’s devastating because he was becoming such an integral part of the team,” said Cone. “Now, though, difficult, we’re trying to refocus on our job at hand. We know we have our hands full with Meralco.”
San Mig Coffee is looking for back-to-back finals in the season-ending tourney while Meralco, in its first Final Four, is determined to go deeper in these playoffs.
“This is a new experience for us. We have to will ourselves to victory and it can only be done through hard work, mental toughness while having fun along the way. We will enjoy this new milestone in our young franchise and we are very clear on our desired destination,” said Gregorio.
The series is rich in subplots, including the one about the Mixers’ personal battle with their former coach.
Before moving over to Meralco in 2010, Gregorio steered the Purefoods franchise to three titles.
San Mig Coffee relied on clutch baskets by PJ Simon and Mark Barroca at the finish as the Mixers edged the Bolts, 88-87, in their elimination-round tiff. (SB)
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