IRONCON-UST and St. Clare College Virtual Reality face off in a crucial Aspirants Group duel on Thursday in the 2019 PBA D-League at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The tip-off for the all-important duel, which could make or break both teams' playoff fates, is set at 4 p.m.
The Growling Tigers have had a struggle as of late, losing two of their last three games as they found themselves in a 5-2 card.
Those struggles couldn't get any more evident than in their 92-80 defeat to Che'Lu Bar and Grill last May 6.
Coach Aldin Ayo understands the situation Ironcon-UST is in and he hopes to draw better performances from young guns Soulemane Chabi Yo, Rhenz Abando, and Mark Nonoy anew.
"Yun naman ang inaayos natin, yung sistema. Bata pa rin ang team kaya kailangan namin maranasan yung mga ganitong hardships," he said.
Meanwhile, St. Clare has gotten its foot back on track with a 93-82 win over McDavid last May 2 to improve to a 5-2 record.
And for coach Jinino Manansala, he's glad with how the Saints have held themselves in this late chase, with Junjie Hallare and Darwin Lunor leading the break.
"Tuloy lang namin ang trabaho namin. Ready kami laban sa UST. Hindi kami pwedeng magpabaya at ibigay lang namin ang best namin," he said.
Valencia City Bukidnon-SSCR (6-1) aims to close in on the top spot in the Foundation Group when it battles winless CD14 Designs-Trinity (0-8) at 12 p.m., while AMA Online Education (2-5) and Family Mart-Enderun (0-6) fight for pride at 2 p.m.
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