DAVAO Occidental shoots for a 2-0 lead in the MPBL Lakan Season finals when it goes up against San Juan on Thursday at the Subic Bay Convention Center.
The Tigers are looking to continue their momentum in the best-of-five series following a closely-contested Game One where they fought back from an 11-point deficit to capture the series opener.
Led by Mark Yee, Davao Occidental beat San Juan, 77-75, on Wednesday in its first game in the bubble.
Gametime is set at 4 p.m. to be shown live on A2Z Channel 11 and on the league’s Facebook page.
Davao Occidental coach Don Dulay lauded the effort of his players despite the absence of tune-up games before the finals series.
“It was a big challenge because we never had a tune-up game or a competitive game in a year,” Dulay said. “We go hard in practices but it’s not the same. We didn’t know what to expect coming in. All I knew is my team was ready to play. But if you don’t play for a year, you have to get the chemistry of the team. Even as a coach, I’ve been a year off.”
Without a day off in between the first two games, Dulay is hoping to see the same fire despite the grueling Game One.
“Our guys are ready to fight. Going into Game Two, we usually have a dayoff. The biggest thing is rest,” said Dulay.
Yee and Emman Calo had 15 points each while Billy Ray Robles pulled off the biggest play of the game, denying the potential game-winning lay-up by Mike Ayonayon to seal the win.
The Knights, who beat the Tigers in the 2019 Datu Cup finals showdown, will definitely go all out and not go down 0-2 in this best-of-five series that is being held inside the Subic bubble as part of the protocols being implemented for the season to resume.
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