NLEX, Terrafirma lock horns
Games today: (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 3:00 p.m. — NLEX vs Terrafirma 6:15 p.m. — Converge vs NorthPort
NLEX and Terrafirma look to start a winning roll when they clash for a share of the early lead in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Game time is set at 3 p.m. followed by the 6:15 clash between opening-day losers Converge and NorthPort.
The Road Warriors needed an extra five minutes to shake off the Batang Pier, 107-100, in overtime to start their campaign last Friday.
NLEX head coach Frankie Lim underscores the importance of building momentum by staying aggressive, especially with a tight schedule ahead.
“We just take it a game at a time. I just told the team that these first five games in 12 days are very important for us. We just want to attack each game one game at a time. Me and my coaches will prepare them very well for these games,” he said.
“I think it’s a good start. Maybe it’s the start of a roll.”
Lim will again bank on the hot hands of Robert Bolick, who dropped 31 points including a pair of go-ahead free throws in the extension in his first game against his former team.
But Bolick remains wary of the Dyip, who are coming off a 107-99 win over the Fiberxers to end an eight-game losing skid starting last conference.
“Terrafirma won its first game so we’re not taking them lightly. We’re excited for Sunday and hopefully we’ll pull off another victory,” Bolick, who led three other NLEX players in double-figure scoring in the previous match, said.
Backing Bolick up are rookie Enoch Valdez, Sean Anthony and Anthony Semerad.
Terrafirma head coach Johnedel Cardel, on the other hand, hopes to build on the squad’s first victory over Converge in four meetings.
“Same thing as the last conference, we started with two wins. But again, it’s only one win, so we must continue our hard work. I think we still have to polish our defense because there are a lot of good coaches in the PBA scouting us but we’re ready for it,” he said.
All eyes will be on top rookie pick of the last draft Stephen Holt and Juami Tiongson, who are set to make their first All-Star appearance in Bacolod, following their scoring explosion last Friday.
Tiongson went 10-of-21 from the field to finish with 30 points while Holt had a double-double of career-best 27 points and 10 rebounds with five steals and four assists.
However, Cardel would also want his other players to get involved not only on offense but also on defense to get past NLEX.
“They have to play as a team. It’s not just scoring that will lead us to victory but also our defense,” he said.
‘Same thing as the last conference, we started with two wins. But again, it’s only one win, so we must continue our hard work.’