Thirty seconds left in Game 4 of the PBA Fiesta Conference Finals. San Miguel import Gabe Freeman was sprawled on the floor, just a few feet away from the San Miguel bench. Diamon Simpson, Alaska's import, looked over Freeman, wondered if he should help the other guy up. LA Tenorio, however, quickly hauled Simpson away from the scene. Freeman was squeezed dry like a tube of toothpaste. He darted up, down, left and right to tally 28 points and 17 rebounds during the game. So now, he could hardly stand up. Simpson, with his size and length, can do that to an opposing player. Simpson, the crown jewel of Alaska's interior security system, can push players like Freeman, and teams like San Miguel, to the edge. There is deep, mutual respect between Simpson and Freeman. They compete intensely without disdain for one another. Simpson appreciates how Freeman hustles on the court like life depended on it. Freeman, on the other hand, recognizes how Simpson keeps it simple on offense and defense; score for Alaska at the post, don't allow anyone from San Miguel to do the same. They push. They wrestle. They battle to the point of exhaustion. Freeman knows it's the only way to keep up with Simpson. Otherwise, one ends up being forgotten as quickly as Chris Daniels (remember Ginebra's import? Tall guy, role player) or ends up in a precarious situation like Shawn Daniels, whose replacement was always perched behind the Talk 'N Text bench. If San Miguel's frontline worries over Simpson, their backcourt worries over Tenorio in much the same way. If Alaska was a Formula One team, Tim Cone's the mastermind back in the pit and Tenorio's the ace German driver handling the car on the course. What Cone says in Tenorio's ear, the point guard executes through every chicane. Stick to our pace. Stick to our pace. Easy on the petrol. One by one, San Miguel Head Coach Siot Tanquingcen sends someone to stalk Tenorio's rearview mirror – Denok Miranda, Alex Cabagnot, Jonas Villanueva and Olsen Racela. But Tenorio, with 21 points and 10 rebounds, still executes the Alaska game plan to near-perfection. And so resisting any urge to crazy-dance, Alaska followed the drill; just moonwalk in the fourth quarter. Nice and easy. Through a walkathon's pace, the Aces burned a couple of shot-clocks, baked a blueberry pie and grew a gumamela flower garden behind the Alaska bench in the process. San Miguel, stuck in a half-court game, looked as comfortable trying to score inside as a Letran player stumbling into a San Beda team party. It seemed Freeman was the only guy in a San Miguel uniform with a ticket to dance. But even Freeman had his limits. With a bloodied mouth and legs that burn, Freeman rested on the floor and stared at the ceiling of the Cuneta Astrodome. Like Ginebra and Talk 'N Text, he knows the Aces have pushed them to the very edge of saying good night and good bye.
- GMANews.TV 
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