Lest the San Miguel Beermen Forget They are Dealing with Coach Tim Cone...

I'm a proud fan of the current San Miguel Beermen core. They are the only basketball team I know of who were able to come back, down 0-3 in a seven game series, to win. And they have been in a lot of battles where they were the underdogs, but they were able to win the game. The most recent example was Game 2 of their current semi-finals series against the Ginebra Gin Kings. They were down by double digits, but they battled back to force overtime, and win in the extra period.

But they are also dealing with my favorite PBA Coach of all time, Tim Cone. And Mr. Cone has proven in the past that even when the team he was leading was down 0-2, he and his team could bounce back. And that is what they are trying to do - convincingly winning Game 3 last night against SMB. Coach Tim is amazing at turning things around for a challenged team. We see in the series that his main big man, Greg Slaughter, is out due to injury, and yet he has been able to utilize Prince Caparal - while other PBA teams have opted to pass over this stretch big man. Under Cone's tutelage, Caparal could be the next Ranidel De Ocampo.

So, as an SMB fan, I hope they don't become complacent and allow the Gin Kings to come back. They should treat Game 4 as a do-or-die game, and remember that it was the Gin Kings who helped ruin their bid for a grand slam last year. (Gin Kings and Meralco, but at the end of the day, the Beermen were also too over confident and perhaps the loss is good for the ego).

SMB also has its share of injured players, Chris Ross most recently. I guess this is a side effect of lax officiating, so that players can get into a brawl more. But the PBA should also consider the long-term health of their super stars. If play gets too rough, there might not be good players for the Gilas program in the future if most are injured or if careers are ended.

So, SMB, if you are reading this, please prepare well for the Gin Kings in Game 4. A tied 2-2 series would probably end up in a semi-finals loss for the SMB Franchise due to a shift in momentum. So you'ld want to end the series early. Players like Arwind Santos should just focus on their game instead of playing the crowd. You don't want the added heat from Ginebra fans. And even if officiating isn't going your way, (since certain people have vested interests in seeing who wins), just play on and play your best. You are currently the best team in the PBA because you play as a team. And I am blessed to have seen this type of chemistry in your past games, and hope that you can sustain it until you cement your place in history with a grand slam.