ONLY the strong will survive as Philippine Basketball Association D-League Aspirants Cup semifinals series head to Game 3s Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
EcoOil-La Salle and Adalem Construction-St. Clare collide at 11 a.m., while Marinerong Pilipino and Apex Fuel-San Sebastian tangle at 1 p.m.
The Saints finally got over the hump in Game 2 with a 72-64 win over the Green Archers behind the hot shooting of Johnsherick Estrada and Joshua Fontanilla—the two-man power trip who coach Jinino Manansala will rely on for the sudden death tiff. “We badly want to win so we’ll do everything we can,” Manansala said.
EcoOil-La Salle, however, remains the favorite as the second-seeded crew are driven to bounce back behind the frontline combo of Kevin Quiambao and Michael Phillips.
Coach Derick Pumaren’s eyes, however, is on the guards as he expects big bounce back games from Schonny Winston and Evan Nelle.
“We can’t be complacent,”Pumaren said. “We have to respect St. Clare because they’re still a champion team.”
The Skippers failed to close out the best-of-three series despite Jollo Go’s 28-point night and Juan Gomez de Liano’s near-triple-double which makes Game 3 a put up-or-shut up time for their side.
It’s the challenge that coach Yong Garcia has laid out for his side as Marinerong Pilipino will be hardpressed to prove that its position as a top contender before the season is no hype.
“We need this one,” he said. “You don’t win championships on paper, so we have a lot to prove.”
For the Golden Stags, the approach remains the same of outworking the opposition, the same strategy that has led them to becoming the unlikely top seed of the tourney.
Apex Fuel-San Sebastian coach Egay Macaraya, though, is anticipating a big fightback from Marinerong Pilipino as he once again relies on Ichie Altamirano and Romel Calahat.
“Knowing coach Yong, I know there will be a lot of adjustments,” Macaraya said. “So I hope we could rest and recover.”