GRUDGE MATCH

Call it finesse versus force or methodical against sometimes unempirical. This Alaska-Red Bull showdown is definitely a series to watch.

The Aces and the Barakos begin their best-of-three quarterfinal series on Wednesday with no team having a distinct advantage over the other that's why many are saying this could go to distance.Alaska, which finished the classification round at No. 3 and was actually a win away for the outright semis berth, toppled Coca-Cola in the wildcard phase, 86-66, to book the quarterfinal seat.

Red Bull, on the other hand, had to climb back from 27 points down in their knockout match against grandlslam seeker Bgy. Ginebra and disposed the back-to-back fashion, 90-89, last Saturday, 2-1.

Aces head coach Tim Cone fears the talent of Earl Barron, the 7-foot versatile import of Red Bull who has been improving game after game.

"He will definitely a big problem for us," said Cone as he expected to use 6'7 rookie Sonny Thoss, 6'5 Don Allado and 6'4 banger Reynel Hugnatan in guarding Barron to save Dickey Simpkins from early foul trouble.

"Red Bull is one of the hottest teams right now. They have an import that can do it all and complement well with their locals," Cone added.

Barakos head coach Yeng Guiao admitted that his reinforcement has more arsenal in his offense compared to Simpkins but he also shared his fears with the 32-year old NBA veteran.

"Simpkins is a tested player. He won an NBA title and he had already proved himself in the league," said Guiao.

"But I guess my import has more moves and can score anytime he wants. Simpkins' only advantage is he's a veteran of the game," added Guiao.

Simpkins, one of the leading candidates for the Best Import award along with San Miguel's Chris Burgess and Talk N Text's Jerald Honeycutt, is still recuperating from a bad back but Cone assured he will be ready on Wednesday.

A positive development for the Uytengsu franchise is the availability of Brandon Cablay in the series, giving Cone another weapon at the backcourt position along with Mike Cortez, Jeffrey Cariaso and the vastly-improved Stephen Padilla.

Alaska's guards have to be ready on the physical-type of game of their counterparts, particularly Jimwell Torion, Topex Robinson, Warren Ybanes and Junthy Valenzuela who gave Barron the needed lift in the series against the Kings.

"We'll be ready. We're given this chance to meet San Miguel again in the semis. We're really looking forward to this series," said Cone.

Game 1 is set at 7:35 in the evening on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum while Game 2 shifts to Ynares Center in Antipolo City the following day. If necessary, Game 3 will be played also the next day also at the Big Dome with still undetermined time.