CAFéFrance and Tanduay go for a knockout victory on Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Aspirants Cup.
The third seed Bakers take on No. 6 Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers at 3 o’clock, while the fourth-seeded Rhum Masters battle AMA Online Education at 5 p.m. at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City. CaféFrance and Tanduay enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals but hope to put away their respective foes sooner and join Cignal and Racal in the next round.
CaféFrance Coach Egay Macaraya is keeping his fingers crossed that his chargers will get their act together and rediscover how to win after closing out the eliminations with back-to-back defeats. “Hopefully, we’ve learned our lessons [from those defeats] and do much better in the quarterfinals,” Macaraya said.
JRU coach Vergel Meneses knows beating Cafe France two in a row is a tall order. But he will be pleased, if his troops could give the Bakers a run for their money.
Paul Desiderio, Michael Calisaan and Rod Ebondo will carry the Bakers as they try to silence high-scoring JRU guards Tey Teodoro and Jhaps Bautista.
“Cafe France is a champion team. It has a solid roster and a tough matchup. While it would be nice if we could make the semis, our goal playing in this tournament is to gain experience to prop up our campaign in the coming NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] season,” Meneses said. “All I ask from the players is for them to play hard and try to match Cafe France’s intensity and energy.”
Tanduay coach Lawrence Chongson, on the other hand, keeps reminding his wards not be complacent notwithstanding their advantage against the Titans. “We still have to win. We may have a twice-to-beat advantage but we still need to compete and find a way to win,” Chongson said. “Every game is a do-or-die for us. Whatever it takes, I’ll take it as long as we survive.”
Mark Cruz, Jerwin Gaco and Bong Quinto will again carry the load for the Rhum Masters, who are coming off a 73-69 win over JRU at the close of the elimination round on Tuesday. AMA, which finished the eliminations tied with Tanduay with a 6-3 record, will have its back against the wall following the untimely departure of starting point guard Juami Tiongson.
The high scoring playmaker Tiongson is returning to the Philippine Basketball Association after getting signed by the NLEX Road Warriors.
“Juami is averaging 20-plus points a game and he creates a lot of opportunities for the team so his loss would hurt us,” AMA coach Mark Herrera said. “But we’re happy that he’s getting another shot in the PBA.”