Cignal-San Beda sets sights on semis spot in all-NCAA clash with JRU

PBA (file photo)
By Dugout Philippines

MANILA--Already into the quarterfinals, Cignal-San Beda refuses to be content as it seeks to inch closer on nabbing the two automatic semifinal seats as it takes on Jose Rizal University on Thursday.

Leaning on their six-game winning streak, the 6-1 Hawkeyes came out of nowhere to take the top spot in the homestretch of the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup eliminations.

And for Coach Boyet Fernandez, the key for his team is to stay the course.

"Hopefully, we'll not stop here and continue to improve," he said, as he will bank on Jason Perkins, Robert Bolick, and Davon Potts to lead the charge for Cignal.

But Fernandez is wary of the threat posed by the Heavy Bombers, which will rely on the duo of Tey Teodoro and Paolo Pontejos to improve their 3-3 card.

"We just have to be ready for them. We know what we can do, so we have to really be ready for whatever they will throw at us," he said.

For JRU coach Vergel Meneses, however, he doesn't think that his side has any sort of an advantage against the Hawkeyes.

"Bago man yung team, beterano na rin si Coach Boyet. Ilang beses na nag-champion yan sa D-League kaya sila talaga ang paborito dito," he said. "Dapat lang na paghandaan namin sila."

The Heavy Bombers are coming off a confidence-boosting 77-75 victory over Racal last Monday, dealing the Tile Masters their first defeat of the conference.

Game time is at 5 p.m. at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, following the 3 p.m. duel between Wang's Basketball (2-5) and also-ran Blu Detergent (0-6) at 3 p.m.

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