PBA playoffs: Early qualifiers get ready for tough grind

Teams which advanced past the PBA Philippine Cup's wildcard phase are not taking their sweet time. For San Miguel Beer and Alaska, which secured outright spots in the semifinal round, and Purefoods, one of the three quarterfinalists, dedication, not vacation, is the most valuable word while awaiting their rivals.

They’re buckling down to work, practicing daily and anticipating the tough grind. With the stakes now getting higher, they cannot afford to relax. Tim Cone’s Alaska Aces and Siot Tanquingcen’s San Miguel Beermen won’t see action for about two weeks, having gone straight into the semis. Ryan Gregorio’s Purefoods Giants made it to the quarterfinal round by finishing No.3 and are awaiting the winner of the knockout game between Coca-Cola and Rain or Shine. But they all shared the view that both the quarterfinal and semifinal series could become anybody’s game. Gregorio’s team is plunging to action Friday and the outspoken Giants mentor told GMANews.TV that they’re not making any preference between the Tigers and the Elasto Painters. Their main objective in the best-of-five quarterfinals series is to sustain their remarkable turnaround with their new found weapon - defense. “Both Rain or Shine and Coca-Cola had picked up their games. I’m not surprised they survived one of the two knockout matches, but I’m surprised that Sta. Lucia is already out. Sta. Lucia leads by five or six games against them in the elimination round and all of the sudden was booted out. That’s how unpredictable the tournament is," he said. “Defense has, indeed, bailed us out in our last few games. We can’t have a day off in defense because it’s the biggest reason why we’re winning even if our offense was absent," added Gregorio, whose squad has become the league’s No.1 defensive team. “We’re holding down our opponents to 83 points in our last 10 or 11 games and 73 points in our last few games in the elims." Tanquingcen’s wards are also in the thick of things preparing to push themselves for a possible back-to-back championship. The Beermen won last season’s Fiesta Conference title over the Ginebra Gin Kings in a grueling seven-game series. “Teams are picking up their game, so you cannot afford to get a vacation," said Tanquingcen. “The most I can give my team is a weekend day off." Cone, whose Aces squad had a shaky performance in their last few games, can now heave a sigh of relief – temporarily, that is. “Sometimes you need to encounter bumps on the road. That’s expected. But it’s better that these bumps should happen earlier and hopefully not in the semifinal round," said Cone. “I think the message was clear that we can beat anybody and anybody can beat us as well. No team is invincible and my team learned that." Health will also be a crucial factor in the next phase of the tournament. The Beermen have three hurting – Dorian Peña, Jonas Villanueva and Lordy Tugade. The Aces have Reynel Hugnatan and John Ferriols recuperating from their old injuries but they are expected to be back in the next round. - GMANews.TV