Minus Parks, Hapee seeks semis vs Jumbo

Games Today (Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig City) 1 p.m. – Hapee vs Jumbo Plastic 3 p.m. – AMA vs Cagayan-Gerry’s

The back-to-back bid of Aspirants’ Cup champion Hapee Toothpaste will be put to a serious test when it battles a souped-up Jumbo Plastic Linoleum side in one of two quarterfinal matches today in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Though holding a twice-to-beat advantage, the Fresh Fighters still need to bring their A-game if they want to surpass a confident Linoleum Giants squad in their 1 p.m. clash.

With forward Bobby Ray Parks pursuing his NBA dream in the US, and versatile guard Garvo Lanete still recovering from an injury, Hapee Coach Ronnie Magsanoc can only hope to get more from his remaining players as they look to beat the odds and advance to the semifinals for the second time since their return to the amateur cage scene last year.

Problem is, three of the remaining top players – Troy Rosario, Baser Amer and Scottie Thompson – have to fight off fatigue since they are also training for the SEA Games-bound Philippine team.

Magsanoc even admitted that it’s rare for the team to practice in full force due to the right schedule of his key players.

All of his players that are donning the San Beda colors are training and competing simultaneously for the school.

Amer and Thompson are also playing for their respective schools in a summer tournament.

Despite that, Magsanoc remained grateful for his players who are still giving their 100 percent, saying they have doubled their efforts during the game.

With the acquisition of Jiovani Jalalon from Keramix and Khazim Mirza from MP Hotel, Jumbo Coach Stevenson Tiu is hoping they can repeat over the Fresh Fighters whom they defeat, 64-61, in the elims.

In the second game, Cagayan-Gerry’s is heavy favorite against surprise quarterfinalist AMA University when they clash at 3 p.m.