One team’s fate sealed tonight

One team gets to live to fight another day, while another will have to pack its bags and prepare for next season, as the 2004 UFO-San Miguel Cup playoffs resume with the crucial game between Cabalen-RP Construction and FASA-PABA-CNC Inc. tonight at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

Both teams are coming from stinging losses last weekend. Cabalen, which is also being sponsored by Transamerica and EC Communications, absorbed a 112-84 rout at the hands of three-time champ SIP-Verizon last Sept. 18, while FASA played their hearts out but fell short against defending champion Visminda-Country House the following day, Sept. 19.

Cabalen and FASA get a chance to rebound and contend for a finals spot when they clash tonight beginning at 7pm.

For Cabalen to eke out a morale-boosting win over FASA, the boys of coach Elmer Pineda must finally play the kind of physical game sadly lacking in their encounter with SIP. Despite being bigger, heftier and having more live bodies than SIP, Cabalen simply backed off when push came to shove in the second half.

Team leader Ronald Delos Reyes should also play what the defense gives him—pass to the weak side when double-teamed and power it up when there’s only one defender. Although, he led all scorers with 23 points last time out, most of them came during the first half and garbage time.

Pineda is also expected to get playmaker Randy Arnedo and sharphooter Paul Magcalas back in the pink of health—or somewhere near it—after Cabalen’s starting backcourt struggled with injuries and combined for only 17 points against SIP.

FASA, for its part, did everything it could possibly can in their game versus Visminda. They shot the ball well, controlled their opponent’s run-and-gun style, and kept power forwards Danny Bicera and Emil De Belen from running amok on the shaded lane.

However, what coach Marvin Deocares’ team failed to check was Banjo Basila running them into the ground between the third and fourth quarters, the sudden emergence of 6’3” center Ed Cosino the entire match, and the all-around game of Jawn Joyner.

Deocares also failed to free up brother-in-law Andres “Juhn” Estolas, Jr. from the barnacles of Visminda defenders Chris Domingo and John Artates. He should know better that where Estolas goes, so does FASA.

FASA can ill-afford another 3-point, fourth-quarter output from Estolas. If Cabalen decides to deny Estolas the ball, Deocares should be ready to use his ace as decoy and have youth standout Kevin Cequena, and swimgmen Errol Peredo and Junar Guiab pull the trigger.

It would also help FASA a great deal if center Jorge De Guzman finally wakes up from his long sleep. The many-time Mythical Five player has not been his usual dominant self and if there’s a better time to breakout, it’s tonight where the loser gets his walking papers.

UFO’s weekend bonanza concludes on Sunday when last weekend’s winners, Visminda and SIP, go head to head beginning at 6pm. With a 3-0 record in the round robin, the winner will have a virtual lock in one of two spots in the finals.