Gaisano Capital, Lion Tiger start title clash in Partners' Cup today

CEBU, Philippines - The top seeded Gaisano Capital-UC Webmasters mainstays without doubt carry a favorite tag going into the battlefield but they must not be complacent as they take on the Lion Tiger Aerosol-UV Lancers today at the start of the best-of-five 5th CESAFI Partners' Cup finals at the Cebu Coliseum.

Earlier, San Marino Corned Tuna will go up against Rose Aquarius Merchandising in the opener of their best-of-three series for third place.

With 6-foot-9 center Junemar Fajardo brandishing a superior height advantage over Lion Tiger's three-man rotation of Edrian Lao, Andrew Avellanoza and Niño Saycon, the Gaisano Capital could gain most of their points from the shaded lane.

And in order not to wear down the energy of Fajardo, he must be complimented by the agility of Roger Caytuna and the ever reliable back-up scorer Roger Pogoy along with Glen Magallanes and Archie Batua.

Except for Caytuna and the departure of Edward Pao who is on vacation in Oxnard, California, the lineups of the two protagonists are almost exactly the same from last year's regular CESAFI season when the UC Webmasters halted the nine-year dominance of the UV Lancers.

This time though, UV is playing without Ralf Olivares, who could have been a big factor in their campaign. The Lancers' present roster is also laden by rookie players, giving the Gaisano Capital every inch of advantage from height to manpower.

Gerald Ampoon is back to active duty to boost Gaisano Capital's backcourt scoring especially that big guard Brian Quinton Heruela is still nursing from a shoulder injury, while Robinson Mohammad can sow terror from the 3-point land.

Lion Tiger Aerosol, for its part, can rely on Lao, Phil Mercader, John Michael Abad, Jerome Silva and rookie Vincent Mendoza.

San Marino, on the other hand, will count the most from gunners Bonifacio Guillena III, Eleazar Armecin, Rene Pacquiao and Junnard Pineda, while Rose Aquarius will bank on Fritz Dajalos, Anthony Linao, Randy Avila, Joseph Sedurifa and the Ferraren brothers - Earvin and James. (GGM)(FREEMAN)