Games today:

(Mall of Asia Arena)

4:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs Meralco

7:30 p.m. — San Miguel vs Rain or Shine

San Miguel Beer head coach Jorge Gallent warns his players against complacency and reminds them that the job is not yet done despite holding a commanding 3-0 lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals series.

The mentor wants the defending champions to come into Game 4 against Rain or Shine today at the Mall of Asia Arena as if they are not up and on the cusp of completing a series sweep for a return trip to the finals.

“We just have to be motivated in Game 4. We really have to bring the energy and we really have to step on the gas,” Gallent said.

He expects the Beermen to display the same tenacity and play with a sense of urgency just like in the past three games when they take the floor at 7:30 p.m.

San Miguel’s deep arsenal spelled the difference in Game 3 as other players stepped up when the Elasto Painters held off big man June Mar Fajardo from wreaking havoc in the second half just like in the first two outings.

‘We just have to be motivated in Game 4.’

But the star-studded franchise had other options in Terrence Romeo, Marcio Lassiter and Don Trollano to turn to in the 117-107 victory last Wednesday witnessed by a sold-out crowd inside the Dasmariñas Arena in Cavite.

The odds are definitely in favor of the Beermen after becoming the 18th team in league history to go up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. Sixteen of the previous 17 teams that had won the first three games went on to win the series, eight of them via sweep.

Interestingly, San Miguel is the only squad to recover from a 0-3 deficit when it made a “Barnacle” over Alaska to win the 2016 Philippine Cup championship series.

But Gallent knows the Elasto Painters, whom they have already beaten 10 straight times since 2022, will be desperate to avoid getting swept.

“I’m sure Rain or Shine will come out smoking on Game No. 4 so we just have to match that and do the things we’ve been doing, then I think we’re gonna be okay,” he said.

Meanwhile, Meralco shoots to inch closer to a finals berth in the 4:30 p.m. battle against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

The Bolts took a 2-1 series lead after knocking down the Gin Kings, 87-80, last Wednesday in which they survived a late game scare despite leading by as high as 17.

“There should be no letdown. We know Ginebra is never-say-die, that’s always their mantra,” Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said.

Chris Newsome, Chris Banchero, Cliff Hodge and Allein Maliksi have been the go-to guys of Trillo in the series to match Ginebra’s stars in Christian Standhardinger, Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson and Maverick Ahanmisi.