MJAS Zenith-Talisay City returns to the Alcantara Civic Center after a weeklong to take on KCS Computer Specialist-Mandaue City in Game One of the Visayas Leg best-of-three finals of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup on Friday.
The game is set at 7 p.m. with Talisay City bringing a 10-game winning streak—including two routs over Mandaue City, 77-57 last April 13 and 81-73 last April 24.
But that unscathed record has been thrown out the window with the Aquastars of head coach Aldrin Morante saying it’s all back to square one as they face an all-fired up opponent coming off inspiring victories in the step-ladder semifinals.
“We’re back to 0-0,” Morante said. “Forget about 10-0. This is the finals and we need to stay hungry and we need to stay sharp.”
While Morante admitted that practice pales in comparison with actual games, he said their scrimmages were fierce. Come Game 1, the soft-spoken coach said he wants his players to pay close attention to KCS’ top guns—Gryann Mendoza and Ping Exciminiano.
“We can’t be complacent. We have to limit their scoring machines because they’re the ones who give life to their team,” Morante said. “They are heavy hitters and we all need to stay focused.”
Mandaue City is coming off a grueling 74-64 semifinal win over the ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu City on Thursday. Limiting Talisay’s court general Paulo Hubalde ranks high on head coach Mike Reyes’s list.
Mandaue City assistant coach Jabby Bautista said they have a tall task ahead of them but stressed they are confident their team can give Talisay a run for its money.
“Talisay is stronger, faster and bigger,” Bautista said. “But if we just play our game, play like there is no tomorrow, play like how we played against Mandaue City last night [Wednesday], I think we can do it.”