Game 1 of the PBA Fiesta Cup semifinals between top seed Talk 'N Text and Alaska has yet to fire off, but already coaches of the two opposing teams have contrasting views as to which one has the advantage going into the best-of-seven series that begins Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Tropang Texters' Chot Reyes belittles the claim of Alaska counterpart Tim Cone that the Aces are banged up after surviving Barangay Ginebra Kings in a grueling best-of-five quarterfinals series that went the full route.

"There's no such thing as a banged up or well-rested team in the semis," said Reyes. "One is riding a momentum while the other is rusty. This will be a tough series between two evenly matched teams. Period."

But Cone doesn't buy either Reyes' argument that the Tropang Texters are out of form, well aware that despite not seeing action in the league for about a month now, the franchise has kept in step with the rest by going overseas for tune-up games against commercial ball clubs from China.

"No doubt," said Cone when asked whether the long rest will have an enormous effect in the long series. "Obviously, they (Texters) have a huge advantage. We're a little banged up, and we still got guys coming back from injuries."

The differences in opinion between two of the league's brilliant coaches definitely adds fuel to the already potentially explosive Game 1 of their series set at 7:30 p.m.

Two hours earlier, defending champion San Miguel and Derby Ace also kick off their own semis series in a rematch of their Philippine Cup Final Four contest.

The Tropang Texters emerged the No. 1 seed after losing only five of their 18 games in the eliminations, a stretch that saw them shake up their roster by acquiring Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes in a trade with Sta. Lucia.

Yet despite Talk 'N Text's seeming formidability, the Aces certainly like their chances as the ‘unquestionable underdogs,' as Cone would refer to his team.

The last time the two teams met, the Aces only lost by a point, 76-75. And Cone is not concealing his plan of dictating the pace of the game and keeping the scores low behind the Aces' half court set.

"I really thought we played them well the last time we met," said Cone. "Talk 'N Text is formidable, but we're not afraid of them."

Like Alaska, Derby Ace is also cast as the underdog in their semifinals showdown with San Miguel.

But giving the Llamados a ray of hope of toppling their powerhouse opponent is the presence of import Tony Washam, obviously the force that allowed the team to comeback from a 2-1 series deficit against Rain or Shine.

"Washam gave us a lift. With his arrival, James (Yap) is not the sole target on defense. We have become more potent offensively. SMB looks invincible, but we are convinced that we can compete for as long as we play as a team and figure out their weaknesses early in the series," said Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio.

In their three meetings with the Llamados this conference, the Beermen won two including an 88-83 playoff victory that determined the second and last outright semi-finals berth on July 2.

During the Philippine Cup though, the Llamados hold the Beermen's numbers, overcoming a 2-1 deficit to advance into the Finals, where they completed a stunning 4-0 sweep of Alaska for the title. - JVP, GMANews.TV

There was no miracle comeback for Ginebra.

Not at the expense of one of the proudest franchises in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) history. Not at the expense of the league's winningest coach.

Diamon Simpson found himself unmolested underneath the basket and banked in an easy lay up with five seconds left as the Aces hang tough for 93-91 win over the Kings and clinched the last semifinals berth in the Fiesta Cup Sunday night at the packed Big Dome.
The Alaska import was left open after Rudy Hatfield decided to help and double team Joe DeVance from the right corner, and the 6-foot-7 Fil-Am was quick to capitalize and dumped the ball to Simspon for the lay in and the go-ahead basket, 92-91.

The Kings had five seconds left to complete a game-winning play, but Eric Menk, harassed by Simpson and Cyrus Baguio, fumbled the ball at the post and completely lost possession, signaling the end of what had been a roller-coaster season for the league's crowd darling.

The Aces wrapped up the quarterfinals series, 3-2, but needed to weather Ginebra's searing comeback after being down, 0-2, early in the best-of-five affair.

Alaska now advances to the semifinals opposite top seeded team Talk `N Text. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series starts on Wednesday.

"I'm really sorry that there's one team which had to lose in this game," said Alaska's Tim Cone, the coach with the most number of wins in PBA annals.

"This is just an incredible series and it's a pity that one team has to lose tonight."

L.A. Tenorio topscored for the Aces with 25 points and was 4-of-8 from three-point range, the last of which shoved the Aces to a 90-84 lead with 2:14 remaining in the do-or-die Game 5.

But the Kings regrouped and came up with one final push, scoring seven straight points, capped by a big JayJay Helterbrand three-pointer off a steal, to give Ginebra a 91-90 lead in the last 28 seconds amidst chants of Ginebra! Ginebra! Ginebra! from a crowd of 21,062 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Coming off a time out, Alaska almost lost control of the ball, but patiently worked on their offense until DeVance found Simpson under the basket for the game-winning play.

Simpson added 24 for the Aces and Baguio torched his former team with 22 points.

The Kings, who led by as many as 24-13 late in the first quarter, was led by the 19 of Willie Miller, who embraced Cone, his former coach, at center court shortly after the game. - RCJ, GMANews.TV

Scores:
Alaska 93 - Tenorio 25, Simpson 24, Baguio 22, De Vance 10, Thoss 4, Hugnatan 4, Cablay 2, Cariaso 2, Dela Cruz 0.
Ginebra 91 - Miller 19, Menk 15, Daniels 14, Intal 11, Tubid 9,Hatfield 9, Salvacion 6, Helterbrand 6, Villanueva 2, Wilson 0, Cruz 0, Cortez 0.
Quarter scores:17-28, 40-44, 68-65, 92-91

Tony Washam carried B-Meg Derby Ace into his shoulders for four full quarters before the rest of the Llamados took over in the extra period of a dramatic 105-100 win over Rain or Shine Sunday at the Big Dome.

The win enabled the Llamados of an entry into the semifinals of the PBA Fiesta Cup.

Playing in just his second game, Washam, a second-generation import, exploded for a conference-high 49 points before a roaring crowd of 20,026, steering the Llamados to the hard-earned victory that almost slipped out of their hands after watching the Elasto Painters ferociously fought back from as much as a 23-point deficit.

The Llamados clinched the grueling quarterfinals affair, 3-2. They trailed the Elasto Painters midway in the series, 1-2, before winning the last two games by deciding to junk Clif Brown for Washam.

"You're just seeing the tip of the iceberg," said coach Ryan Gregorio of his import, a European League veteran, who's a son of former Gilbey's Gin import Dartona Washam.

The younger Washam shot 17-of-33 from the field and was 6-of-9 from downtown.

"Tony just came in at the right place and at the right time."

The reigning Philippine Cup champions now take on the well-rested and defending champion San Miguel Beermen in the best-of-seven semifinals series that begins Wednesday.

For a while, the semifinals stint looked bleak for the Llamados, who lost a huge 56-33 lead. They found themselves trailing 85-88 with 1:41 to go in regulation on a follow-up basket by Eddie Laure.

Laure's basket capped Rain or Shine's spectacular second-half comeback, but the Elasto Painters just simply couldn't hang on.

Raffi Reavis scored on a follow-up, and after Sol Mercado had a split, Niño Canaleta hit his only triple for the night to push the Llamados up again at 90-89 with 47 seconds left to play.

Mercado had another split in the ensuing possession to level the score at 90, and both squads traded ill-advised shots, with Mercado failing to win it after launching a long three-point shot at the buzzer.

The Llamados' locals went to work from there.

The Llamados raced to a 96-90 lead, before keeping its poise when the Elasto Painters came to within a field-goal twice - at 100-98 and 102-100 - both coming off baskets by Gabe Norwood.

James Yap practically sealed it with a pair of charities with 10.1 seconds to go, 104-100.

"It was truly an incredible series," said Gregorio. "Every time we face Rain or Shine, we were always pushed to the limit. I've coached for more than 300 games, and this is one of the toughest, most emotional. It's because of experience why we prevailed."

Rico Maierhofer led all Derby Ace's locals with 17 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation, while James Yap, sporting a slightly swollen left eyelid caused by an inadvertent head-butt in Game Four from Mercado, highlighted his 13-point performance by connecting on all six free throw attempts in overtime.

Norwood finished with 25 and Mercado added 23 for the Elasto Painters, who only got 12 points from import Rod Nealy. Coach Caloy Garcia opted to sit out Nealy in the second half at the height of Rain or Shine's searing rally. - RCJ, GMANews.TV

Scores:

Derby Ace 105 - Washam 49, Maierhofer 17, Yap. R. 14, Ya J. 13, Reavis 8, Canaleta 3, Aratadi 1, Simon 0, Pingris 0, Allado 0.

Rain or Shine 100 - Norwood 25, Mercado 23, Nealy 12, Laure 12, Cruz 8, Arellano 6, Arana 5, Chan 3, Hrabak 3, Telan 2, Salangsang 1, Ibanes 0.

Quarter scores: 29-14, 58-40, 72-69, 90-90, 105-100

Flaunting the heart of a champion, B-Meg Derby Ace played with the needed urgency to overwhelm Rain or Shine, 92-78, and sent their PBA Fiesta Cup quarterfinal series to a deciding game.

Derby Ace's move of bringing in a new import worked wonders for the Llamados as reinforcement Tony Washam teamed up with local bet James Yap in a dominating Game 4 performance as the reigning Philippine Cup champions led from start to finish at the Astrodome.

Playing his first game on local soil, Washam, a late replacement for Cliff Brown, lighted up the scoreboards with 29 points and 13 rebounds while Yap added 17 in the lopsided win that tied the best-of-five series at 2-2.

Game 5 is set Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, with the Elasto Painters in danger of missing the services of key big man JR Reyes.

The 6-foot-7 center was assessed a flagrant foul 2 with six minutes remaining and the outcome of the match already settled after he elbowed Derby Ace's Raffi Reavis.

Roger Yap had 17 for Derby Ace, which also got a combined 25 points from the trio of Reavis, Rico Maierhofer, and Don Allado.

"We came into the game with just one mindset - and that is to survive. Hopefully, we'll be able to pull through again on Sunday," said Maierhofer, who grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds.

The Elasto Painters never really got on track the moment they fell behind early in the game.

They trailed by 12 after one quarter, 14 at the half and totally lost grip of the match in the last two periods of the contest when Mark Pingris, playing even with a slight tear on his left thigh muscle, canned in two free throws to give Derby Ace a 60-37 advantage.

The closest Rain or Shine could get was at 81-64 with five minutes remaining before Washam hit two straight three-pointers to keep the Elasto Painters at bay, 90-67.

The Elasto Painters were so frustrated that even back up center Mark Telan elbowed Paul Artadi to the face in the final two minutes, with the former La Salle stalwart fortunate enough to be penalized with only a flagrant foul 1.

Rod Nealy led the Elasto Painters with 26 points and Jeff Chan was the only local player in double figures with 15.

Sol Mercado and Gabe Norwood, the Elasto Painters' acknowledged 1-2 punch, was held to just eight and six points, respectively. - JVP, GMANews.TV

Scores:

B-Meg Derby Ace 92 - Washam 29, Yap J. 17, Yap R. 13, Allado 9, Maierhofer 8, Reavis 8, Pingris 5, Artadi 3, Simon 0, Adducul 0.

Rain or Shine 78 - Nealy 26, Chan 15, Norwood 8, Mercado 6, Reyes 6, Hrabak 6, Laure 5, Cruz 4, Tang 2, Arellano 0, Arana 0, Ibanes 0, Telan 0.

Quarter scores: 26-14, 43-29, 70-49, 92-78.