GAB Banal faces his old team as Go for Gold seeks to extend its unbeaten run when the Scratchers battles Marinerong Pilipino on Thursday in the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The unscathed Scratchers have been on a tear this conference, with Banal being joined by guys like Vince Tolentino and ex-pros Jerwin Gaco and Jai Reyes.
But Tiu is nowhere near satisfied and what better way for him to test his side’s mettle against the Skippers.
“Totoo naman na malakas ang team namin, pero we’re still not in the level that we’d like to reach yet. We still have long way to go.”
“Marinerong Pilipino is a good team and a contender in this tournament and we really have to prepare for them. It should be a good test for us,” he said.
Go for Gold, 3-0, battles Marinero at 3 p.m.
Skippers coach Koy Banal is bracing for a tough match against a team that also has Ron Dennison.
“We have to be smart in our preparation knowing that Gab, Vince, and Dennison know what we want to do,” he said. “We just have to find a way to make adjustments that they aren’t aware of.”
The Skippers enter the match with a 2-1 card and are aiming for a share of the top spot.
Che’Lu Bar and Grill takes on Batangas-EAC at 1 p.m.
Coach Stevenson Tiu looks at this game as a chance for the Revellers to fine tune their game, after a confidence-boosting rout of AMA Online Education last week.
“The more na medyo mahina ang team, the more na natatakot ako. I like to go against stronger teams kasi ang tendency ng players is pag mas mahina, we look at our opponents na medyo magaan kaya bumababa ang energy level nila,” he said as he’ll once again count on Jeff Viernes and Chris Bitoon to carry the scoring load.
“Hopefully, ma-correct namin yun.”
The Generals, on the other hand, are hoping to bounce back after getting ripped by Marinerong Pilipino last week.
“The game was a nightmare for us. But I expect the boys to know what we need to do in the coming games,” said coach Oliver Bunyi.