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The ongoing semifinal round of the PBA Philippine Cup is one of the most thrilling and hotly contested series in the history of the league.
The two series were reduced to a best-of-three after the Red Bull Barakos and the Alaska Aces scored separate wins last Sunday to forge a 2-2 tie.
The Barakos escaped the Giants in overtime, 97-88, while the Aces tripped the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 90-83.
While the Red Bull-Purefoods tiff is equally exciting, the series between Alaska and Sta. Lucia is catching the most attention. Their battle has not been just inside the hardcourt but also outside.
Right after the Aces win last Sunday, officials of the Realtors reportedly tried to confront Alaska head coach Tim Cone.
“We heard people cursing coach Tim while he was heading to the press room. Some people say it was Sta. Lucia team manager Buddy Encarnado and some say that it was one of the assistant coaches,” Alaska assistant coach Luigi Trillo told Cebu Daily News (CDN) in a phone interview. “Coach Tim is a class person and he did the wise thing of ignoring whoever yelled at him.”
Not friends
Cone is also aware of the ongoing off-court battle.
“There is a building animosity as the series goes on,” Cone told alaskaaces.com.ph. “That is what it is all about. There are no friends here. We are not here to be friends. We are here to do battle.”
The brewing rift between the Aces and the Realtors started in Game 2 when Cone felt insulted when Kelly Williams dunked the ball in the dying seconds of the game which was already won by Sta. Lucia.
Disrespect
“Normally, when a team is already up by a wide margin and its a clear win already, you don't need to put up a shot anymore as a sign of respect. When Williams still opted to dunk, feeling namin tumba na kami, tinadyakan pa,” said Trillo.
Williams' dunk drew the ire of Cone and did not engage Sta. Lucia head coach Boyet Fernandez in a traditional post-game handshake. The traditional handshake also did not happen in Games Three and Four.
Another incident also took place in Game Three that further fanned the ongoing rift between Sta. Lucia and Alaska.
“In the closing minutes of Game Three, there was an incident when coach Boyet yelled at the referee, urging them to give coach Tim a technical foul. As your former coach, I think you don't have to do that. Let the referees decide whether they will call a technical foul or not,” Trillo said.
Part Of The Game
But Trillo emphasized that the ongoing rift is just part of the game and the two coaches will settle the issue after the series.
“Coach Tim may not be shaking hands with coach Boyet now but I know after the series, win or lose, he will do that,” said Trillo.
“Maybe the not shaking of hands is coach Tim's way of telling our players that this is a battle and we have to play hard all the time,” said Trillo.
Trillo believes that Alaska's win in Game Four gave them the momentum and their experience will come to play now that the series is down to a best-of-three affair.
“Winning Game Four will be useless if we won't Game Five. We have to win Game Five because we want to put pressure on Sta. Lucia since they are a young squad,” said Trillo. /Correspondent Calvin D. Cordova
