Derby Ace seeks revenge vs San Miguel Beermen

If B-Meg Derby Ace wants to get back at defending champion San Miguel Beer, coach Ryan Gregorio said the Llamados have to limit their turnovers.

“It is the time of the year where you cannot make so many mistakes,” Gregorio said. “We survived 27 turnovers against Sta. Lucia, but not against San Miguel. Our 21 turnovers per game average (10th in the PBA) must be arrested.”

The reigning Philippine Cup champion B-Meg Derby Ace (formerly Purefoods) takes on sister-team SMB this Sunday in the PBA Philippine Cup at 6:30 p.m., right after the 4 p.m. encounter between Rain or Shine and Sta. Lucia Realty.

During their first meeting last May 2, the Beermen downed the Llamados, 80-72. It was the first game of B-Meg import Cliff Brown who replaced Lorenzo Wade.

Both teams are coming off wins over the Realtors with the Llamados scoring a 73-66 win last Wednesday to improve to 8-5 and the Beermen prevailing, 91-84, for an 11-2 card last May 29.

“Our goal is to protect our spot in the top five. It is a critical game for us and we want to see how we will fair against an elite team like San Miguel,” Gregorio said.

The B-Meg Derby Ace coach said that he also expects the 6-foot-5 Brown to step up after scoring just eight points against the Realtors.

Brown will be up against an aggressive Gabe Freeman, the Best Import last season.

“He must show up. He needs to be more consistent in his game because he’s a vital offensive option for us especially with the continued absence of Kerby Raymundo (injured right knee),” he said.

San Miguel coach Siot Tanquincen said he wants his players to compete well in the rebounding department against the likes of 6-foot-9 Rafi Reavis and 6-foot-6 rookie Rico Maierhofer.

“We have to take care of the ball better on offense and compete with their length on the rebounds because they are a strong rebounding team,” Tanquincen said.

The backcourt of both teams are also expected to step up, with B-Meg Derby Ace relying on James Yap, the all-Filipino Best Player of the Conference, Roger Yap, PJ Simon, and Paul Artadi, while SMB will have Alex Cabagnot, Dondon Hontiveros, Jonas Villanueva, and Arwind Santos.

The first game pits two teams reeling from previous defeats.

Rain or Shine (6-6) and Sta. Lucia Realty (4-7) will try to get back on the winning track after losing in their previous game.

The Elasto Painters (6-6) defeated the Realtors (4-7), 84-77, in their first round meeting last March 28.

Providing entertainment for Sunday’s double-header are RnB artist Young JV and acoustic singer Sabrina.

Meanwhile, Air 21’s fourth import Leroy Hickerson debuted with 29 points as he helped the Express beat the Coca-Cola Tigers, 104-102, in the second game of last Friday’s double-header. Mike Cortez had 18 points while Doug Kramer and Wynne Arboleda came off the bench to add 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Air21 improved to 3-1, while Coke, which got 29 points from ex-Express player Gary David, now sports a win-loss record of 5-9.

Games Sunday (Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — Sta. Lucia vs Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. — San Miguel vs B-Meg Derby Ace