ASSUMING the leadership and securing a spot in the quarterfinals is not enough reason to slow down the streaking Cignal Hawkeyes.
Cignal got past Racal and CaféFrance and rose on top of the leaderboard with an 83-68 romp over cellar-dweller Victoria Sports on Tuesday for their sixth consecutive victory in the eliminations of the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Aspirants’ Cup.
Their 6-1 record secured for the Hawkeyes a spot in the next round. But Head Coach Boyet Fernandez wants his chargers to strive for more.
“Hopefully, we’ll not stop here and continue to improve,” said Fernandez, as the Hawkeyes look to extend their winning streak to seven games when they face the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bomber on Thursday.
Game time is at 5 p.m. at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
In the first game at 3 p.m., Wang’s Basketball (2-5) battles also-ran Blustar Detergent (0-6). Both teams are already out of the running.
Another W by the Hawkeyes would galvanize their bid to clinch advance outright in the semifinals.
Taking into account their bench depth, Cignal is heavily favored to stay on the winning track, but Fernandez warned the Heavy Bombers are a dangerous team.
“We just have to be ready for them. We know what we can do, so we have to really be ready for whatever they will throw at us,” Fernandez said.
The Heavy Bombers are also in high spirits in the wake of their 77-75 victory against erstwhile unbeaten Racal last Monday.
JRU Coach Vergel Meneses knows well the odds are against his troops. But he is keeping his fingers crossed, hoping the Heavy Bombers’ desire to make the playoffs would work positively as they try to pull off an upset against the mighty Hawkeyes.
JRU (3-3) and Team Batangas (3-4) are hotly disputing the sixth and last playoff berth.