BEERMEN SMELL BLOOD
San Miguel shots for 24th title; Magnolia fights for survival

Game today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7:30 p.m. — San Miguel vs Magnolia
There will be no hugs and kisses between sister teams this Valentine's Day as San Miguel Beer go for the jugular when it battles Magnolia in Game 6 of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup best-of-seven finals series today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Game time is set at 7:30 p.m. with the Beermen smelling blood, ready to go for the kill and claim their 29th PBA title in franchise history.
The first four games of the series had been a see-saw battle, a string of encounters that put the league's most high-powered offense and most suffocating defense on full display.
Behind the red-hot shooting of import Bennie Boatwright, June Mar Fajardo and Best Player of the Conference CJ Perez, the Beermen drew the first blood — 103-95 and 109-85 — in the first two games of the series.
But instead of getting demoralized, the Hotshots regrouped and responded by flaunting their suffocating defense.
Import Tyler Bey took charge of stopping Boatwright while other Hotshots like Calvin Abueva, Ian Sangalang, Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon stepped up to book an 88-80 victory and 96-85 win in Games 3 and 4 that set the stage for a crucial Game 5.
But in the tiebreaking encounter, a pair of unheralded gunners caught fire and lifted the Beermen to a 108-98 win that put them on the verge of securing the title.
Jericho Cruz, who was suspended in Game 3 and hardly made his presence felt in Game 4, erupted with 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals while Simon Enciso knocked down five three-pointers to finish with 15 points.
Although raising the trophy while the nation is celebrating the Day of Love sounds like a fairy-tale finish, Beermen coach Jorge Gallent believes that the mission will not be easy.
