Meralco, NLEX target quarters twice-to-beat
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2019 16:14:50 +0000
Meralco and Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX) are both gunning for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals when they take on separate opponents tonight in Season 44 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
The Bolts (7-2 win-loss record) battle Northport in 4:30 p.m.
Meralco crushed Columbian Dyip, 92-74, on Friday behind Allen Durham’s 34 points and 14 rebounds. A victory by the Bolts will propel them from No. 3 to No. 2, and earn them a chance to snatch one of the four twice-to-beat bonuses in the quarterfinals.
“Next step is to prepare for Northport on Sunday. We have back-to-back games so we have to find ways to keep our guys fresh and get ready for the Northport game on Sunday,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
Meanwhile, the Batang Pier (3-5), led by import Michael Qualls and Christian Standhardinger, are desperate to qualify for quarterfinals.
No. 1 NLEX (7-1) seeks to solidify its hold of No. 1 as it faces Magnolia (5-4) in the 6:45 p.m. game.
“We’re right in the position where we want to be,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao. “We never dreamed about this. Even in our own dreams, we never expected to become the No. 1 team in this conference.”
The Road Warriors are also aiming to stretch its winning run to five games behind explosive import Mike Harris and Kiefer Ravena.
“But we know that this is very fragile. A mistake could make everything fall apart. This is temporary and fragile. But I hope we can hold on to it as long as we can. What’s important for us is to secure the top four. We’ve never dreamed of being the top seed but if it’s there, we’ll take it,” Guiao said.