NLEX, TNT target early F4 entry

Credit to Author: Josef T. Ramos, TMT| Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2019 16:12:42 +0000

Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and TNT KaTropa are both eyeing an early entry into the semifinal as they face separate rivals tonight in the quarterfinal of Season 44 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The top seed Road Warriors will face No. 8 Northport in the 4:30 p.m. opener while the No. 3 KaTropa will take on No. 6 Magnolia at 7 p.m.

The Road Warriors under coach Yeng Guiao are up against the Batang Pier’s big three — Michael Qualls, Sean Anthony and Christian Standhardinger.

Mike Harris of NLEX soars for a lay-up as Northport’s Kevin Ferrer looks on during a Season 44 PBA Governors’ Cup game recently at the Araneta Coliseum. PBA MEDIA BUREAU PHOTO

“Monday could be the biggest game for this franchise. Even if we’ve made the semifinals once before, this time it looks more interesting for us looking at our potential,” said Guiao through a text message.

“Northport is solid and dangerous. They’re coming in with renewed energy, literally. They feed off the energy of the three-headed monster,” added Guiao, referring to Qualls, Anthony and Standhardinger.

“They (Northport) are peaking at the right time. There’s no such thing as a twice-to-beat advantage. We have to finish the job tomorrow or else they will finish it for us,” said Guiao.

Meanwhile, TNT, though armed with a twice to beat is bracing for a hard collision against defending champion Magnolia.

“We respect how Magnolia play together and how they are prepared against us. They beat us pretty easily just a week ago. In that game, Magnolia played really well. They were able to do what they wanted to do against us. We have to play a much better game on Monday or we will be in trouble. For us we made great strides in our last game against San Miguel. We must continue to improve on that,” said TNT coach Bong Ravena.

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