In this PBL PG Flex Erase Placenta Cup Final 4, arguably the most compelling storyline is this: will PBL fans see a Cobra – Cossack finale? Only the basketball gods (or perhaps some of the more trivia nut hoop addicts) would know when the last time was when sister teams were even in a PBL semifinal. It would make for interesting discussion and great buzz for the PBL. These Cobra Iron Men actually came into this PBL conference as one of the favored teams. Head coach Lawrence Chongson said it best in a preseason interview, “We’re the oldest team in the league now, since we came in ahead of Ascof (formerly the Pharex Bidang Generix).” There was already some sense of urgency for the Bong Tan-backed franchise to finally make it into the PBL Finals. In the last conference they rode the best player in that tournament – UE superstar Paul Lee – as far as he could take them, deep into the semifinals. They came just shy of making their first appearance in the Finals as a franchise.

When asked about his preferred opponent in the Finals, if ever, Chongson had this to say, “We have to make the Finals first, before we talk about who we might meet once we are there.” And indeed these words of sobriety are quite a mouthful for the man who made the UAAP Finals in his rookie season as a college coach for UE.

Cobra might be hoping to meet sister team Cossack Blue in the Finals for one specific reason: their supposed B Team was one of only two teams to beat them in the eliminations. Cossack in fact was the first team to inflict an L on them, and there ought to be some payback expected. Cossack head coach and UE assistant coach Rene Baena, along with another UE deputy in Nel Parado, worked out a solid game plan that was executed to near perfection by the Blue Spirits to eke out that tough win over Cobra at the Arena in San Juan.

Cossack started out in a blaze, getting four straight wins and getting people talking about how this team was getting it done on sheer hustle, hard work, discipline and heart. Perhaps outside of diminutive gunner James Martinez there were no real big name superstars on this roster. Almost all of the players on this squad are role players or complimentary players in college. Some of them – like long and tall center Jun Morillo and Filipino-American swingman Bobby Simpson – are virtual unknown quantities in local basketball. Their second-best player on this team – JR Taganas – is a role player who mostly comes off the bench for the NCAA powerhouse San Beda Red Lions. Taganas, the so-called “Baby Shaq” of amateur basketball, led the league in rebounds, averaging over 16 per game, and routinely outplayed his bigger-name counterparts,

These Blue Spirits were made up mostly of the younger UE Red Warriors, toughening themselves up for the next UAAP season just a few months down the road. “We are really just looking to give some experience to the boys who will be playing for UE in the UAAP (next season),” explained Baena in one post-game interview. Unfortunately for Cossack, they are now on a three-game losing skid, and they got blown clear off the court in their last elimination round game versus the Adamson Falcons-backed Add Mix squad. It’s a tough situation going into the Final 4 with a losing streak hanging on them.

Of course, whatever hopes and dreams the sister squads have is not totally dependent on them and them alone. They will have to get through two teams that have made impressive runs in this conference. Pharex-B, backstopped by the core of the UP Fighting Maroons and the entire coaching staff of UP as well, and Excel Roof, bolstered by the core of reigning NCAA champion San Sebastian, stand in the way, and would themselves want to make it all the way to the tournament finals.

Excel Roof has some of the best stud athletes in the tournament: 6-foot-3 bruiser Gilbert Bulawan, 6-foot-3 high flier Ronald Pascual, 6-foot-2 dynamo Calvin Abueva, and 6-foot-7 former RP Youth Team center-forward Ian Sangalang. They are not lacking in firepower with 6-foot-1 NCAA Season 85 Finals MVP Jimbo Aquino in the lineup. These Golden Stags got it done in the NCAA just when everybody thought that San Beda would surely get the 4-Peat. They might yet carry that championship momentum into the PBL Finals. While they are at a twice-to-beat disadvantage versus the tough, talented and veteran Cobra squad, they have proven to be tough, talented and savvy enough themselves. “Its also a good thing that most of the players already know each other, tsaka dumaan na kaming lahat sa isang championship as a team,” said head coach Ato Agustin.

Pharex B may have the UP core, but thus far it has been the non-UP players that have delivered most of the goods for head coach Aboy Castro. Without the slightest doubt, the biggest reason for the success of Pharex B has been 6-foot-4 power forward Vic Manuel. Manuel played the last time around for Burger King-San Beda, but that proved an unfruitful stint as Manuel languished behind big names like Jake Pascual, Bam Gamalinda and Ogie Menor. He somehow made it to the Pharex B lineup, and the rest is now history. “I’m really happy we were able to get Vic Manuel because he is a real athlete,” said Castro in one post-game interview. “He gives us a lot of options, and he makes the game easier for the rest of the team.” Manuel will get every opportunity to prove how good he really is in the tougher atmosphere of the Final 4. Two other stalwarts of this team: swingman Marlon Adolfo and guard JR Tecson, have provided depth and firepower across the board. Adolfo and Tecson have provided exemplary outside marksmanship and perimeter savvy. These three have made life easier for Woody Co, Magi Sison, Arvie Braganza, Martin Reyes, et al.

If the Fortune / Asia Brewery groups had their way this would be a simple equation. But as with all things, the PBL Finals berths still have to be earned.