Elite to close out elims stint vs 4 tough teams
Games tomorrow (MOA Arena) 4:15 p.m. – GlobalPort vs Meralco 7 p.m. – San Miguel vs Blackwater
Blackwater goes through a killer stretch of four games against highly formidable opponents to close out its elims stint, but coach Leo Isaac remains hopeful of his wards’ strong finish for a berth in the PBA Philippine Cup playoff round.
“Four tough games against San Miguel Beer, Alaska Mi l k , Barangay Ginebra and Star. But there is actually no easy game in the PBA. We’ve done well in our first seven games, and we’re hoping we can continue to put up a good showing in our last four games,” said Isaac.
“The good thing is that our fate is in our hands. We’re the ones that will craft it. If we get some good breaks, good blessings, then we may be among the teams playing in the playoffs,” Isaac added. “Our first seven games weren’t easy. We won four. Malaking pondo yon.”
With a couple of back- to- back triumphs in their first seven outings, the Elite stand at joint fourth place with the Phoenix Fuel Masters at 4-3 at the resumption of action tomorrow at the MOA Arena in Pasay where GlobalPort and Meralco are pitted at 4:15 p.m. then Blackwater versus San Miguel at 7 p.m.
“We rested for three days from Dec. 30. But the guys didn’t look like they took a rest. They’re in shape and they’re all upbeat,” said Isaac.
“It’s hard to declare a target. What we’ll just do is to prepare the best we can, play the hardest we can and we’ll be happy where we land,” Isaac added.
The expansion ball club has reached a number of milestones in the first half of the elims – opening a tourney with back-to-back wins, becoming a league leader and racking up more than three wins in a tourney.
A dampener was a 93-97 loss to Mahindra in their Christmas Day showdown at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan where the Elite blew a 15-point lead early in the fourth.
Rookie Mac Belo, sophomore Arthur dela Cruz and third- year pro Kyle Pascual have been Blackwater’s lead guns in a breakthrough run marked by victories over Phoenix, Meralco, NLEX and GlobalPort.
Against San Miguel, Isaac said they will have one less problem if Alex Cabagnot won’t really be able to play because of a fractured nose.
“But that’s only one player. We still have to worry about the other players in that strong team,” said Isaac.
Meanwhile, the PBA is forced to bring key games in the homestretch of Philippine Cup elims in fallback venues like the Cuneta Astrodome and the PhilSports Arena due to the non-availability of the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the MOA Arena in most part of January.
In the last two weeks of the month, the PBA plays elsewhere outside the Big Dome and the MOA Arena which are both booked for other events.
There’s the Ms. Universe Pageant at the MOA Arena and there are different shows set at the Big Dome.
At the end of the single-round-robin elims, the last four teams will be eliminated. The top two gain a twice-to-beat advantage in their quarters match-ups versus No. 8 and No. 7 while the four middle teams figure in a pair of best-of-three quarters face-offs.