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[av_heading heading=’Tough battle awaits Beermen as PBA PH Cup resumes today’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, January 6, 2017
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MANILA – Two-time defending champion San Miguel Beermen is in for a tough battle when it resumes its title-retention bid in the ongoing 2016-2017 Oppo PBA Philippine Cup today.
After beating the “lighter foes” in its first six matches, the Beermen will next face Blackwater Elite today, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings on Sunday and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters next Friday.
The last two elimination round matches of the 5-1 Beermen are against youthful teams GlobalPort Batang Pier and TNT Katropa, which is currently at second place in the standings.
“I want them to step up because we know we have to get to our right peak. We know that our opponents are getting tougher, but I have my full trust on my players because they know what our situation is,” said Beermen head coach Leo Austria.
“After the holidays, we’re focused and back to business,” he added. “The second half of the elimination is really hard for us because we’re facing the probable top four teams in this tournament.”
A win against the Elite tonight will assure the Beermen a spot in the quarterfinals, inching them closer to the coveted top two spots, which will automatically send the team to the semifinals.
“Right now, we have to win our next three or four games. The main goal is to get into one of the top two slots and to step up once we’re in the quarterfinals,” said the former Adamson University Falcons mentor.
“I think we’re on the right track because you can see it with their aura. Although they’re having fun, what’s important is they already know what to do. Their camaraderie is good and you can see that everybody’s in a good mood,” he added.
The Beermen will likely miss the services of Alex Cabagnot in the next few games as he is still nursing a broken nose. In his absence, expected to fill the void are new recruit RR Garcia, Chris Ross and Brian Heruela./PN
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