All-out war looms: TNT, San Miguel kick off Finals showdown

Game today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

7:30 p.m. — TNT vs San Miguel

One wants to make history. The other seeks redemption.

Another opportunity to complete a grand slam is presented to the TNT Tropang 5G.

San Miguel Beer, on the other hand, wants to reestablish its supremacy after falling out of grace in the previous tournament.

Two tactical geniuses will try to break a title deadlock in an all-Filipino chess match of offense versus defense.

Layers of stories and sub-plots abound in a showdown for the ages when the Tropang 5G and Beermen collide for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup throne starting today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The best-of-seven championship series opener erupts at 7:30 p.m. with both teams looking to establish a firm footing early in what could be a long tug-of-war between the finest all-local squads in the land.

Bruised, hobbling and dealing with key absences, TNT is determined to complete an epic story of triumph in its bid to join the elite club of triple crown winners alongside legendary teams Crispa, San Miguel, Alaska and San Mig Coffee.

Tropang 5G head coach Chot Reyes may have downplayed the grand slam angle for his team but drawing first blood will push TNT closer to settling an unfinished business to wash away the bitter aftertaste of a failed season sweep attempt in 2011.

“We know we are up against a very strong team, and with all of our injuries as well. But we will just do what we’ve been doing the whole conference — keep fighting and just trying to give ourselves a chance,” said the TNT mentor, who is tied with Beermen coach Leo Austria for the most number of all-Filipino titles with six apiece.

However, the Tropang 5G would have to make do with the available players they have.

Already playing without the Finals Most Valuable Players of the last two conferences Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac due to season-ending knee and groin injuries, respectively, TNT might continue to miss guard RR Pogoy and veteran Kelly Williams, who both missed several games in the semifinals against Rain or Shine.

Pogoy has not played since he aggravated a hamstring injury in Game 2 of the Final Four. Although showing good signs of recovery, the combo guard’s status remains a game-time decision while Williams is day-to-day after tweaking his ankle in Game 4 of the semis.

This leaves Calvin Oftana, Poy Erram, Jordan Heading and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser the tough task of carrying the fight for the banged-up Tropang 5G.

“It’s now about who has the strongest will power,” Oftana said.

“Especially for our team that’s been aching all over. But we will keep on fighting amid the adversities. And we’ll take it one game at a time.”

If there’s one advantage the Tropang 5G have over San Miguel, it will be a 2-0 record against the Beermen this season.

But San Miguel head coach Leo Austria believes what transpired in the past is not an indication of what will happen in the future.

“It’s really a different story,” Austria said.

The Beermen are motivated to bounce back from missing the playoffs in the Commissioner’s Cup and regain the Philippine Cup crown they lost last year to Meralco.

“In a way it helps a lot missing the playoffs in the last conference. The players have realized that it should not happen again. Everybody is now stepping up. They act differently and you can see it in their body language,” Austria added.

The nine-time champion coach will rely on a healthier eight-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Don Trollano, Juami Tiongson, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter and Jericho Cruz much like they did in sending Barangay Ginebra packing in the seven-game semis series.

“One or three players won’t be enough to win this series. We need to play as a team, everybody should step up from the players to the coaching staff, for us to win the championship,” Fajardo said.

“We all know it won’t be easy winning a championship against a team like Talk ‘N Text. We know they’ve already won two championships in the last two conferences and are gunning for a grand slam. Our goal is to win a championship as it has been a long time since we won one,” he added.