Beermen out to end Whoppers' Fiesta Cup finals bid

MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel guns for a first finals berth in two years Friday night when it tries to finish off Burger King in their Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup semifinals series at the Araneta Coliseum. Game 5 is set at 5:00 p.m. and serves as the Beermen’s first of three cracks at finishing off the tough playing Whoppers. The Beermen pulled off a tense 120-119 double overtime win Wednesday night for a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. San Miguel is the winningest squad in the 34-year history of the league with a total of 17 championships and 28 finals appearances. But its last title came in the 2005 Fiesta Cup when it beat Talk ‘N Text, 4-1, and its last Finals appearance happened in the 2006-07 Philippine Cup where it lost to Ginebra. Despite everything seems going his team’s way, Beermen coach Siot Tanquingcen would rather take things cautiously, especially against a squad as dangerous as the Whoppers. “The series is far from over," said Tanquingcen. “One thing that this series has taught me is that one day you could be high, and then the next could be a humbling experience." In the other semifinals series, defending champion Ginebra and Rain or Shine, meantime, try to break their 2-2 tie in their own semi-finals series that’s now been reduced to a best-of-three. The Gin Kings avoided going into a 3-1 deficit in Game 4, trampling an obviously off-form Elasto Painters, 86-70. Rain or Shine missed 19 free throw attempts in that game (13-for-32) and shot only 1-for-17 from the three-point area. “It’s been a lose-win-lose-win pattern in the series," said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico, referring obviously to the outcomes of the first four games of the series. “I just hope we can break that. We just have to shoot well and lessen our turnovers." – GMANews.TV