Buoyed by its hard-fought win in Game 1, defending champion San Miguel Beer looks to deal the death blow to TNT KaTropa when they collide on Wednesday in their PBA Commissioner's Cup best-of-three quarterfinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In Game 1, the Beermen recovered well from an early 23-point deficit behind their spirited second-half rally to frustrate the KaTropa, 121-110, to draw first blood in their quarterfinal series on Monday.
The loss though didn't sit well for coach Nash Racela and team manager Virgil Villavicencio, who put the game under protest shortly after SMB came away with the win. But over an hour later, TNT decided to go against its decision to file protest, opting to focus on bouncing back the next game.
TNT's frustration stemmed from the 32 fouls slapped against the team that had San Miguel going to the foul line 40 times, converting 31 of its attempts.
In contrast, the KaTropa only had 8-of-18 free throws in the series-opening match, while worse, hulking import Josh Smith failed to get his game going after getting into earl foul trouble. The former Georgetown U standout eventually fouled out with over three minutes left to play, allowing San Miguel to pull away late in the game.
And SMB coach Leo Austria knows TNT will be back with a vengeance in Game 2.
"Their back is against the wall so we're pretty sure they will give us a tougher time in Game 2," Austria said in Filipino.
Momentum is also on San Miguel's side, having dominated TNT for their last seven encounters dating back to Game 5 of their Commissioner's Cup championship confrontation last season.
As usual, Puerto Rican import Renaldo Balkman, four-time league MVP June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter will be at the forefront of the Beermen's bid to close out the series as they try to advance to the semifinals.
Balkman led the Beermen with 36 points, 16 rebounds and four assists in Game 1, while Fajardo and Lassiter had 27 and 26, respectively.
Meanwhile, Ginebra coach Tim Cone is bracing for a real tough battle come Wednesday when his Kings face off with the Meralco Bolts.
The American coach expects Meralco's wide-bodied import Arinze Onuaku to come out swinging in Game 2 since finishing with a quiet offensive night of just 12 points in the series-opening game.
"I think we're going to see more of (Arinze) Onuaku," offered Cone, referring to the Bolts import who hauled down 18 rebounds but scored a dozen points on 11 attempts.
"I think he'll be a bigger presence in the next game. He'll challenge our defense more," added Cone, who credited local big men Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar for their combined effort in clogging the shaded lane.
Asked about his thoughts for Game 2, the 60-year-old Cone knows the Bolts will come out with "great force."
"They're gonna come out with great force to start the game and we gotta come out with our own force and see if we can beat it," shared the league's all-time winning coach.
"You meet force with force - that's the only way you could do it," he added.
Justin Brownlee will again be leading the charge for the Kings.
The sweet-shooting reinforcement led Ginebra with 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks, helping his team overcome a 10-point, first-half deficit.
Slaughter, Aguilar, Joe Devance and veteran guard LA Tenorio are also expected to dish out their A-game for a Ginebra side that is shooting for its seventh straight win overall this conference.