TEST OF WILL
Petron Blaze’s approach on the game still won’t change though the Boosters have tucked under their belt top honors in the PBA Governors Cup elimination round.
Though assured not just of a twice-to-beat bonus but also the elims top pennant, Petron coach Gie Abanilla said they would continue to work hard and fight hard as they tangle with the Globalport Batang Pier at 6:30 p.m. at the Cuneta Astrodome Sunday.
“It’s basketball. We’re in the business of winning games,” said Abanilla.
“Our mindset is we want to play no matter what the situation is. We want to build character for our team,” he earlier said.
The Boosters secured top finish in the elims in outlasting the Alaska Aces, 103-100, in a gripping battle Friday night at the Philsports Arena.
If ever what Sunday’s game could offer the Boosters is the positive vibe from an amazing eight-game streak. The team has never lost a game since dropping its first game in the conference versus Barako Bull.
The Boosters want to begin their campaign in the post-elims play coming from a win.
Abanilla, however, expects a tough battle against the Globalport team in pursuit of a first-ever playoffs stint in the pro league.
Globalport took the cue from its heartbreaking loss to Barako Bull last week, making its own final-half turnaround to turn back Meralco, 91-79, Wednesday.
Blowing away an 18-point lead in their bitter loss to the Energy Cola, the Batang Pier this time overcame a 20-point deficit to snap a three-game losing skein and climb back to the Top Eight at 3-4.
Sol Mercado, who had a crucial lapse at endgame versus Barako Bull, redeemed himself firing away killer bombs at the finish to stop the Bolts’ three-game streak.
“I commend Sol for being brave enough to talk to the team (Tuesday). He owned up his shortcoming and promised to do better the next time,” said Globalport coach Junel Baculi.
The Batang Pier had a chance to salvage the game versus the Energy Cola but forgot to use one remaining timeout after Markeith Cummings grabbed the defensive rebound with six seconds left to play.
There was no reminder from the coaching staff during the timeout, and no one from among five players on the court thought of calling the timeout, and Barako went on to escape with a 98-97 nail-biter.
“We used the Sunday loss as a motivation. We have nothing to blame but ourselves. We rose as a team,” said Baculi as they got back on track, already matching the three wins the young franchise notched in the season’s first two conferences.
“We have to learn and hopefully we be gatecrashers in the quarterfinals,” Baculi also said. (SB)
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