San Miguel Beer coach Ato Agustin is pleased with the kind of attitude his team brings to the floor.

The Beermen are playing with a lot of passion and desire, something that Agustin has been preaching
his troops the moment he took over from Siot Tanquingcen, now an assistant to Barangay Ginebra coach
Jong Uichico.

“Ang pinakagusto ko sa team ko yung composure nila hindi nawala. They never give up even when
things are not going our way,” Agustin observed.

Their remarkable effort has kept SMB on to top of the team standings as it approaches the playoff
stretch of the 2010-11 PBA Philippine Cup and the thought of it, Agustin admitted, brings him some
sense of satisfaction.

“Napaganda ng posisyon namin ngayon. This is where we really like to be at this point,”
proclaimed Agustin, after the Beermen got away with another one-point victory against Barangay
Ginebra in their rematch last Sunday that snapped the Kings’ six game winning streak.

The way he figured they still have to win two of their last three assignments to put a lock on the
No.1 spot.

SMB is up for a return engagement with Air21 on Friday. After that, the Beermen test the mettle of
the Meralco Bolts on Dec. 3 before closing their elimination round campaign against struggling
Alaska on Dec. 5.

A fourth straight victory by SMB (9-2) in their scheduled 7:30 p.m. collision with the Express at
the Araneta Coliseum would secure it a top two finish in the elims, and along with it a
twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. SMB crushed Air21, 100-86, in their first meeting on
Oct.8.

As the Express (4-6) continue to struggle, Coach Yeng Guiao admitted the team has leveled off its
expectation and that they just want to survive the elimination round.

“We just have to accept that we’re going to struggle at this point but we have to build our
character while we’re struggling,” Guiao said. “And hopefully, the breaks would come our
way.”

Talk N’ Text also aims for a repeat victory and get back on the winning track when it takes on
Barako Bull in the other game set at 5 o’clock.

The Texters (6-3) barely escaped with an 84-83 nail-biter over the E-Boosters last Nov. 7 and is
expected to again walk the tightrope with Kelly Williams missing his second game with team.

Barako Bull, meanwhile, has reactivated Jason Misolas and Jim Viray in favor of Rob Wainwright and
Mark Andaya, who were placed on the unrestricted free agent list, in an effort to improve its 2-8
mark.

TnT is coming off an eight-day break after a disappointing 88-93 loss to SMB in their rematch
Wednesday last week. The Texters are aiming for an all important win to gain a share of second place
with idle Barangay Ginebra (7-3). (DBC)