Beermen reject ‘sweep’ idea

Games today:

(Philsports Arena)

4:30 p.m. — Blackwater vs San Miguel

7:30 p.m. — TNT vs Converge

San Miguel Beer is just two wins away from completing the first elimination round sweep in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in 10 years.

But the Beermen are not letting such a trivial accomplishment distract their focus on the task at hand.

Despite assuring itself of the No. 1 spot in the quarterfinals and a twice-to-beat advantage in the next round after winning nine straight in an undefeated run, San Miguel still wants to keep building its momentum and confidence going into the games that matter the most.

So, there will be no letting up for the wards of head coach Jorge Gallent when they face a desperate free-falling Blackwater in their Philippine Cup showdown today at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The Beermen will treat the 4:30 p.m. match the same way they did in their first nine starts.

Gallent is wary of the Bossing’s ability to trade punches with any team. Although Blackwater sustained six straight losses it did beat other contenders Meralco and TNT to start the all-Filipino conference then routed Converge before its string of misfortunes.

The tactician has mentioned the Bossing’s close 113-115 defeat at the hands of NorthPort last Saturday as an indication that they remain dangerous.

“That game they had to win to make it to the playoffs. It was a big game for them that’s why they played 100 percent. They just came up short. Unfortunately, Arvin (Tolentino) made a great winning shot,” Gallent said.

“But you know in that fourth quarter they played as a team and we have to watch that in film,” Gallent added, trying to plot to good game plan to make sure Blackwater won’t pull off an upset.

Once the Beermen hurdled the Bossing, it would be up to Meralco to try to stop the San Miguel freight train from becoming the first club to sweep the eliminations since TNT Tropang Giga’s 9-0 finish in the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup. TNT would then rack up four more wins to get into the finals before yielding to San Mig Coffee after four games.

Gallent, however, is not looking beyond the Beermen’s present opponent.