ShareThisBy EDDIE G. ALINEA
MANILA (via PhilAmPress) – One team is going for a rare Grandslam. The other, well, just win a second franchise title.
This would be the atmosphere with San Mig Coffee and Rain or Shine battle starting this week in a best-of-five series for the PBA Governors’ Cup championship that would give the San Miguel-Purefoods franchise a sweep of the 39th season of the country’s and Asia’s first professional league.
And if the Mixers succeed, they will, likewise, award coach Tim Cone the honor of becoming the first bench tactician to win two Grandslam counting his similar sweep of the 1996 season while calling the shots for Alaska Milk.
That’s besides gifting him, too of his 18th PBA crown that would further cement his grip as the league’s winningest coach.
The Elasto Painters, on the other hand, will be trying to hand the Asian Coatings franchise its only second crown since joining the premier league in 2006 and their mentor, Pampanga Congressman Yeng Guiao his sixth title.
The two teams collide in alone game at 8 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena with both gunning to start the series on a bright note to serve as cushion for what is expected thrilling next four sessions.
Incidentally, this series is arepeat of the best-of-seven championship matchup the two teams engaged each other in the season opening of the Philippine Cup which the Mixers won.
Reason why Guiao and his boys expressed their eagerness for the title-playoff to commence and exact revenge for the their All-Filipino setback although they assured everybody that attended the finals press conference held at the Sambokojin Restaurant in Eastwood in Pasig City.
Guiao, Beau Belga, Paul Leem, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Chris Tiu and import Arizona Reid assured, who also attended the presscon, though that the agony of that bitter defeat, which still lingers in their minds, could serve as their rallying point in their campaign.
Guiao, for his part, told his audience he has been constantly reminding his boys of that experience in their preparation for the championship showdown adding that most part of the team’s preparations are focused on what went wrong in their futile Philippine Cup campaign.
“Masakit pa din, nanghihinayang ka din sa opportunity. I just keep reminding them the best way to remedy that is to keep working hard and recalling the heartaches and pain. That pushes them to work harder,” Guiao said.
“I told them we have been given another chance to rectify our mistakes then so let’s just make the moist out of it. We failed in our bid for the All-Filipino, let’s just work a little bit harder to win the Governors. Cup,” he said.
Guiao welcomed the opportunity of meeting the Grandslam-seeking Mixers in a Final rematch, adding that it’s an honor and privilege to be a part of this history-making event.
“No we will not be out there to spoil coach Tim and the Mixers’’ bid to make history,” Guiao clarified. “But we will be just there, paying our hearts out. If we break San Mig Fans’ hearts by winning the title, we will be, in return, making our fans happy.”
“Binigyan na kami ng another chance to be in the finals, so we’ll try our best to win the championship,” he promised.
Cone, as usual, downplayed his bid for a Grandslam saying Grandslam or no Grandslam, the Mixers, like the Painters will just try to win.
With Cone in meeting the media men were James Yap, Mark Pingris, Joe de Vance, PJ Simon, Mark Barroca and reinforcement Marcus Blakeley. Also present were San Mig representative to the PBA board Rene Pardo, Commissioner Chito Salud and the league’s media relations chief Willie Marcial.