TWO and 12.
Those are the numbers that will be on the minds of the San Miguel Beermen when they shoot for a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Semifinals against TNT Ka Tropa and their 12th consecutive victory in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
Unbeaten since November, the defending champions are aiming to keep their streak going as they close in on a finals berth at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City against a Tropang Texters side who are looking to equalize.
San Miguel coach Leo Austria is looking forward to another shot at both extending his team’s impressive dominance and more importantly, tighten their grip of the series with Game 2 victory.
“We’re happy we’re able to win Game 1 and that’s very important. Now, we’re looking at another one and we’ll play to win again,” said Austria.
Playing with the aura of invincibility, the Beermen continued their dominant ways and breezed past the Tropang Texters, 111-98, in Game 1 last Wednesday night to open the series with authority.
Behind the steady scoring of top guns Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and June Mar Fajardo, San Miguel easily dismantled TNT in the opener.
Lassiter had 22, Fajardo 21 and Cabagnot 20 as there was no shortage of firepower for the scorching hot Beermen.
Austria described what it’s like seeing his team rack up 11 straight victories as it aimed on defending its crown successfully.
“The players are enjoying the game. You’ll see that. They now understand how to win. They’re playing like an orchestra. They know what to do.”
The Tropang Texters drew 27 points from Jayson Castro and 24 from Kelly Williams in Game 1 but still need more support ahead.
As of press time, Star and Barangay Ginebra are battling it out in their own best-of-seven opener with both teams trying to get an early advantage.