CAGAYAN, HAPEE START D-LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP DUEL
Cagayan Valley coach Alvin Pua sees a lot of bumping, shoving and pushing when the Rising Suns and the Hapee Fresh Fighters clash on Monday in the opener of their PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup Finals.
The Rising Suns arranged a showdown with the Fresh Fighters by putting away the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems in the deciding Game 3 of their semifinal series last Thursday.
Observers believe the finale between the top two teams of the eliminations is evenly matched.
Game 1 of the best-of-three series comes off at 3 p.m. with a big crowd expected to show up at The Arena in San Juan.
Cagayan Valley defeated Hapee in the eliminations, 80-77, on Abel Galliguez’s tie-breaking 3-point shot with one second left in the match that featured a lot of physicality.
“We just got lucky,” offered Pua, adding he expected the series to be a lot more physical than their first encounter.
“It’s hard to predict how long the series will take. But I’m very certain the level of physicality to be a lot tougher,” he said.
Pua said the Fresh Fighters are a star-studded team but believes his troops are just as talented.
The Rising Suns are making their second Finals appearance in the league. They were swept by the NLEX Road Warriors in the 2012 Foundation Cup championship.
“We are looking at a defensive oriented series,” said Hapee coach Ronnie Magsanoc, who has urged his chargers to focus on the things that help them match-up with Cagayan’s high octane offense.
Coming off a two-week break, the Fresh Fighters are understandably motivated to get back at the Rising Suns, who dealt them their only loss in the eliminations.
“We must be ready to handle and level up with the physicality of the series,” Magsanoc said. (DBC)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
