Alaska takes on Ginebra; San Mig Coffee contends Barako Bull

Alaska tries to extend its winning run to four games while three squads gun for a much-needed bounce-back wins in the resumption of the 2013 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces face the slumping Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the main game at 6:30 p.m. while San Mig Coffee eyes to put an end to its two-game slum against Barako Bull in the opener at 4:15 p.m.

After a two losses to open their campaign, Alaska has notched three straight victories, including a 92-81 win against Air 21 last Friday to improve their win-loss mark to 3-2.

The Aces will be facing the struggling Kings, who have dropped their last three assignments after a 2-0 start.

And that somehow concerns Alaska coach Luigi Trillo.

“We understand how potent Ginebra can be. They play better with their backs against the wall,” said Trillo, who again drew a double-double game from rookie Calvin Abueva against the Express.

“They push the ball hard and they have an abundance of scorers. We will have to dig deep with back to back games for us.”

The game will feature the first time Ginebra guard LA Tenorio will face his former squad after a blockbuster offseason trade sent him to the Gin Kings.

Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen said his team just needs to play as a cohesive unit to get back to its winning ways.

“We have to play smarter and take care of the little things on both ends of the court,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Coffee Mixers try to snap a two-game slide against the Energy Colas.

“Needless to say, we need a big bounce-back game. We lost two tough games to two high-quality teams, but there were stretches in both games where we played very good basketball,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone, whose team is coming off a heartbreaking 80-79 loss to Rain or Shine last Wednesday.

“There’s no reason for us to lose confidence in ourselves. We expect to come out firing on all cylinders tomorrow.”

For Barako Bull to stand a chance, Baculi said defense would be the key in their game plan.

“We are capable of bouncing back. Again, defense will be the key. Limiting James Yap, Peter June Simon and Yancy de Ocampo is tough but can be done,” said Baculi.

The Energy Colas are coming off a tough 79-76 defeat to defending champion Talk ‘N Text last Wednesday.

-InterAKTV