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TOYOTA
Otis guns for the twice-to-beat advantage in the
quarterfinal round when it meets San Mig Coffee today in
the 2008 Philippine Basketball League (PBL) Lipovitan
Amino Sports Cup at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym in
Manila.
And the
Sparks have to win big in their 4 p.m. game to secure
the incentive. The Coffee Kings are also eyeing the same
bonus, but on the condition that Pharex, also in the
hunt for the incentive, loses its last game.
In the
first game, top seed Harbour Center and ousted Bacchus
Energy Drink collide at 2 p.m. Batang Pier’s 12-game
winning streak was halted by the Medics on Saturday that
also led to the early elimination of the Raiders.
Harbour
Centre (12-1) and Hapee (9-5) already clinched the 1-2
seeding in the semifinals, while Bacchus (5-9) and Noosa
Shoes (6-9) are already out of contention.
Burger
King (8-6),
Toyota (7-7), the Medics (7-7) and San Mig Coffee (6-8) are in a
tight race for the twice-to-beat advantage in the
quarterfinal round.
“At
least, our fate is in our hands and the players are also
motivated to extend their campaign because it means
another month of job for them,” said Sparks head coach
Ariel Vanguardia, whose wards are coming off an 89-81
win over the Shoe Stars on Saturday at The Arena in San
Juan.
“We will
not waste this opportunity. Hopefully, the boys will
live up to the challenge,” he added.
To
achieve this,
Toyota must win by at least 15 points to secure the advantage.
San Mig
Coffee has to win by at least two points and is also
hoping that the Medics drop their last game against the
Burger King.
Jonathan
Aldave, recently honored as Player of the Week by the
PBL Press Corps, will again lead the attack of the
Sparks along with Patrick Cabahug, Erick Rodriguez and
Chito Jaime.
Bonbon
Custodio, Eric de la Cuesta, Neil Raneses and Eder
Saldua will lead the charge of the Koy Banal-coached San
Mig Coffee.
Batang
Pier will try to get back on the winning track after
absorbing the shock of a 99-97 loss to Pharex in their
last game.
But the
defeat could be helpful to the defending champions,
according to head coach Jorge Gallent.
“I’m
quite disappointed that our winning streak came to an
end. This is a wake-up call for the boys,” said Gallent,
whose 12-game winning streak is the longest since the
18-game roll of Tanduay 10 years ago.
Bacchus
will just play for pride though. It got booted out by
that Pharex win over Harbour Centre. The Raiders of
coach Lawrence Chongson are also coming off a 74-70
upset win over Hapee.
Meanwhile, the PBL All-Star Showcase will be held on
Saturday at The Arena in San Juan.
Various
skills competitions are in store for league followers
with Harbour Centre’s Jason Castro and Boyet Bautista
looming as the favorites in the obstacle challenge.
Other events on tap are the Three-Point Shootout and
Slam-dunk Contest.
Standings: Harbour Centre 12-1, Hapee 9-5, Burger King
8-6, Toyota Otis 7-7, Pharex 7-7, San Mig Coffee 6-8,
Noosa Shoes 6-9, Bacchus Energy 5-9, RP Youth 0-8.
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