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Source: GMA News

-- Purefoods goes for the kill Sunday night when it seeks a finals berth in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the expense of a San Miguel team that have their backs on the ball at the Astrodome in Pasay City.

The Giants finally grabbed the lead in the best-of-seven series, 3-2, following a 94-82 rout of the Beermen in Friday’s Game 5.

And another win in the 6 p.m. encounter would have coach Ryan Gregorio and James Yap & Co. advancing to their first Finals stint in two years opposite the Alaska Aces.

Knowing how potent the Beermen are, Gregorio is treating the game with a lot of urgency.

"We know that San Miguel, with its roster power, could very well come back," he said. "That is why we are treating Game 6 as a do or die. SMB is such a strong team. You can’t blink, you have to be vigilant."

The Game 5 win by the Giants marked only the first time a team won back-to-back contest in the series, a breakthrough that had Gregorio grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Definitely we like where we are at this point. But there’s no point in celebrating until we win the next game," said Gregorio. "And we don’t want to give them any chance. Much as we lead the series 3-2, we’re still the underdogs trying to gate-crash the Finals."

Paced by Kerby Raymundo and Roger Yap’s 18 points, five players scored in double figures for the Giants the last time. James Yap, although struggling (5-of-17) from the field, still wound up with 17 points, while Nino Canaleta came off the bench to contribute 13 and Rafi Reavies had 10.

In the event the series comes to an end Sunday, Purefoods will have two days to prepare for the best-of-seven title series against Alaska on Wednesday.

The Aces cornered the first Finals berth after sweeping the Ginebra Kings on Feb. 17.

The Beermen have nothing to blame but themselves for Friday night’s loss.

They allowed Purefoods to shoot 46.6 percent from the field (34-of-73) and clearly was caught napping at times on missed attempts by the Giants, who got away with 18 second-chance points.

The Beermen likewise struggled offensively, making just 42 of their 70 shots (40 percent) from the floor.