BRT Sumisip Basilan-St. Clare and Centro Escolar University have their eyes set on a top two finish in their respective groups on Monday in the 2019 PBA D-League Foundation Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Saints (4-0) are seeking to hurdle Black Mamba (3-1) in A Group B showdown at 1:30 p.m., while the Scorpions (4-0) have Hazchem (1-3) standing in their way in a Group A clash at 3:30 p.m.
BRT Sumisip-St. Clare secured a place in the quarterfinals with a 112-100 win over McDavid-La Salle Araneta last week and another victory would give it the a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
But more than anything, coach Stevenson Tiu hopes to address his team's defensive woes which showed up versus McDavid-La Salle Araneta as his wards lost hold of a 24-point lead before hanging on to the 12-point spread.
"Taken for grated nila yung defense. May moments na good pero may times na nagpapabaya. Kailangan ma-check namin yung tendencies na ganyan," said the veteran mentor, who will bank on Malian big man Mohammed Pare, Junjie Hallare, and Irvin Palencia.
It's the same case for CEU which has been on a rampage so far this conference, winning its first four outings, the last of which a 36-point destruction of iWalk, 120-84, last Aug. 22.
"That's what we want, na makuha namin yung top two sa group namin," said coach Derrick Pumaren, who will lean on Senegalese slotman Malick Diouf, sweet-shooting forward Rich Guinitaran, and Kyle Sunga in the affair.
Capping off Monday's triple-header is the faceoff between Group B cellar-dwellers Alberei's (1-4) and McDavid-La Salle Araneta (0-4) at 5:30 p.m.
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