CALASIAO, Pangasinan – The Juniors will be hoping that familiarity will be used to their advantage when they face the Rookies/Sophomores on Friday night in the PBA All-Star Game at the Calasiao Sports Complex.
The Juniors squad will be composed of RR Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Jio Jalalon, Carl Bryan Cruz, Kevin Ferrer, Rashawn McCarthy, Russel Escoto, Mike Tolomia, Ed Daquioag, Von Pessumal, and Ael Banal, most of them being teammates with the Gilas cadets as well as other teams.
Juniors head coach Topex Robinson hopes to use it to their advantage in their 7 p.m. match against the Rookies/Sophomores.
“What’s good about our line-up is that we have five FEU players who hav been running the dribble drive,” said Robinson after Thursday’s practice. “They are exposed to dribble drive. We don’t have a legit big man. We just made sure that we maximize their skill and talent na meron kami. We are loaded with guards. ‘Yun ang magiging advantage namin.”
Robinson presided over a light practice on Thursday night, the same day the All-Stars arrived in this bustling municipality.
“They had a busy day. Ayaw naman namin sila pahirapan. They are all competitors and by keeping it simple, they know the responsibilities. They are not just here to be friends with each other connect each other. At the end of the day, it’s how we compete against each other,” said Robinson.
Despite being an exhibition game, Robinson assured that the players will showcase a competitive game for the PBA fans.
“Again it’s a very exciting combination of players that are really competitors. Sabi nga nila, hindi nila hahayaan ‘yung bunsong kapatid nila na tatalunin sila. At the end of the day, it’s about giving back. Basketball has been good to us. Giving back to the fans, that’s the true essence of the AlL-Star,” said Robinson.
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