GAMBOA Coffee Mix-Saint Clare looks to stretch its winning streak to three games when it battles Jose Rizal University (JRU) today in the Philippine Basketball Association D-League Aspirants’ Cup at JCSGO Gym in Cubao.
Coffee Lovers Coach Jinino Manansala has credited Aris Dionisio and Fil-Am guard Trevis Jackson for their hot start and keep his fingers cross the duo will continue to be a source of inspiration for their teammates.
“Winning two straight makes us feel great, but it’s still too early in the league, so we have to keep working hard,” Manansala said. “Our target is to make the top 6.”
Game time is at 4 p.m. following the 2 o’clock match between winless teams AMA and Batangas-Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC).
JRU Coach Gio Lasquety, meanwhile, hopes that his troops have learned their lesson from their last game and bounce back quickly. “We need to improve our transition defense because that’s what’s missing on our loss to Perpetual [Help],” Lasquety noted, referring to JRU’s 88-72 defeat to Perpetual on February 5.
The Heavy Bombers were visibly not in their elements against the Altas, so Perpetual big man Prince Eze took the opportunity to dominate the paint and cruise to a triple-double performance.
Against the Coffee Lovers, Lasquety said the Heavy Bombers must play good defense against Dionisio and Malian big man Mohammed Pare.
“We didn’t play defense like we did in our first two games. I told them not every game is a walk in the park. We need to work hard for the win and we need to bring back our mind-set from our first two games for us to get back on the winning track,” he said.