Winner takes it all: Kings, Beermen clash for crown

The spirits war sizzles to the very end.

And after 48 minutes of Game Seven tonight, there will only be one team to be toasted – either Ginebra or San Miguel.

The Gin Kings and the Beermen clash for the last time this conference in a fitting climax to a stirring best-of-seven showdown for the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference crown.

Gametime is at 7 p.m. before an expected record crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.

“It’s now a jump ball,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico after the Kings blew away their first crack at the championship with an 84-98 loss in Game Six Wednesday.

“It’s far from over but we’re blessed to play a deciding Game Seven,” said San Miguel mentor Siot Tanquingcen.

Barangay Ginebra is out to keep the trend after taking the odd-numbered games in the series but San Miguel hopes to ride the momentum of its big win the other night.

History, however, seems not on San Miguel side.

The team has lost the last three Game Sevens it has played and carries a 2-4 overall losing record in do-or-die duels. Ginebra, on the other hand, is perfect in two Game Seven outings.

But in a Game Seven of a heated title duel marred by flagrant fouls and suspensions, records, numbers or trends don’t matter.

It all boils down to execution.

The Beermen, the league’s winningest team with 17 championships, hope to lean on their defense to stifle the Gin Kings, the way they did in Game Six where they held the crowd favorites below 90 points.

On the other hand, expect Ginebra to unravel its vaunted run-and-gun game and import David Noel to dominate again. The Gin Kings are also raring to unload their outside firepower after going 0-of-9 from the long range the last time out.

“God put us in the situation to test us. It’s how we respond to adversity. That would define us as an individual and as a team,” said Tanquingcen.

Uichico remains hopeful of coming out of the war victorious despite losing Game Six.

“Entering the series, I didn’t really expect for us to set the pace. I was thinking if it would be a quick one, it would San Miguel. We have a better chance if it’s a long series,” said Uichico.

“Now we’re here. Having a 50-50 percent chance of winning isn’t bad. It didn’t happen Wednesday. It might happen today,” Uichico added.

For the record, 13 of 17 teams which took a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven went on to win the championship. However, in the last four PBA Finals, three teams blew 3-2 leads and lost the championship.