SURPRISE LEADER ENERGY TAKE ON INSPIRED CARNIVAL
Four days gone and PBA hoopdom is still in shock after expansion squad Kia trumped Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer.
Upset of the season so far, to say the least.
But overshadowed by that stunner is another upset which happened three days prior, when Barako Bull stung Barangay Ginebra in Biñan to surprisingly grab a share of the lead.
And on Sunday, the upset-driven squads try to cancel each other out when they take the court at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, continuing their campaigns in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
For the Carnival, the slaying of the Beermen is just a fitting welcome to playing-coach Manny Pacquiao, who is expected once more to grace the sidelines for the expansion team.
Assistant coach Chito Victolero said that the big win is a fitting welcome to the eight-division boxing world champ after an underwhelming campaign in the prior conference and a pair of losses to start this tourney.
“I’m very happy. Magandang panalo yung binigay sa amin ng mga players,” Victolero said.
Behind the efforts of hulking import Peter John Ramos, veteran locals Leo Avenido, Mark Yee, and JR Cawaling, as well as upstarts LA Revilla, Kyle Pascual, and Karl Dehesa, the Carnival got the huge win and resolved their issues on finishing the game in select outings before.
“That’s our problem, on how we finish. I’m very happy that my locals stepped up,” said Victolero, as Kia improved to 1-2.
However, standing in their way is Barako Bull, which is eyeing to make a surprise 3-0 start and grab a share of the top spot alongside Meralco and Purefoods.
Coach Koy Banal has enjoyed the campaign of his rag-tag crew so far this conference, and a big reason for that is the renaissance of Sol Mercado who has anchored the Energy in their past two victories this conference.
“He’s been big to us. He has taken the leadership role for this young team and I’m happy with how he’s performing,” said Banal.
Towering reinforcement Solomon Alabi will be there to matchup for Barako Bull against the imposing presence of Kia’s Ramos.
Emotions are also sure to run high in this game given their past history with each other. Ramos and Banal have engaged in a war of words in one of their pre-tourney tuneup games, and it would be interesting to see how these two squads will react this time around.
Game time is at 3:00 p.m. (RL)
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