CHANCE FOR REDEMPTION

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Kia and GlobalPort face off Tuesday, with both teams needing a victory to gain an early foothold in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The winner of the 4:15 p.m. encounter climbs a notch with Talk ‘N Text and Rain or Shine on 2-2 win-loss records while the loser slides down the slippery slope in the company of this conference’s endangered species.

The top two teams after the elimination round get outright semifinal berths; the bottom two get kicked out. Considering the reality of their situation, not the Sorento nor the Batang Pier is angling for the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. But neither is resigned to its current state.

The Sorento, with playing-coach Manny Pacquiao still in their midst, rallied mightily to beat the Elite, 80-66, on opening day at the mammoth Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, but had since absorbed crushing back-to-back setbacks.

The Batang Pier, on the other hand, stayed the coming of midnight for coach Pido Jarencio by turning back Barako Bull, 91-81. But they squandered a big lead against Grand Slam champion Purefoods Star and wound up losing, 81-75, raising fears the gallows is once more being raised.

Pacquiao will be absent from his third Kia game as he prepares for his coming world championship fight against American Chris Algieri in Macau later this month, but assistant coach Glenn Capacio is confident the Sorento are slowly learning what it takes to compete in the big league and can pull off some surprises along the way.

GlobalPort could fall victim to the Sorento if it again fails to assert itself in the stretch, the way it did against the Purefoods Hotshots. Alex Cabagnot was a hot hand in the third quarter that game but practically no other Batang Pier came through to back him up in the fourth, especially when Mark Barroca took control.

The Sorento will have to shoot better – much better – than they did against Rain or Shine.

Kia shot 38 percent from the field, missing 53 of their 85 attempts, a throw-and-hit ratio Pacquiao would have frowned upon.

“Marami kaming open shot, ‘di lang talaga namin ma-shoot. Ewan ko kung anong meron,” Capacio said. “Kahit siguro ako, ako ma-open dun, shoot ko ‘yun e.”

LA Revilla, a revelation on his first game for Kia, needs to step up once more against GlobalPort, which is loaded with outside gunners, from Cabagnot to Stanley Pringle and Terrence Romeo, who can blow out the Sorento into smithereens.

GlobalPort, by no means, has this game clinched, especially with chaos seemingly reigning in the fourth quarter in its past games.

The Batang Pier need to appoint a teammate they will respect and look up to as a leader all game long, somebody capable of keeping them together once the going gets tough. Cabagnot could be that guy, but the ace playmaker is too valuable a scorer to be concerned with leadership and ball distribution. Rookie Stanley Pringle, likewise, wasn’t drafted that high to be tasked with massaging the egos of his teammates.

Six-foot-nine center Yancy de Ocampo or forward Mark Isip, if they can rise to the challenge, could be the elder statesmen this team is looking for.

This game therefore affords both teams lots of chances for redemption and assertion. (WJRHT)

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