Vengeance is foremost on the mind of the Pasig-Rizal Pirates and Pampanga Dragons as they gear up for victories against recent tomentors who stalled their drive to the MBA-FedEx Crossover Cup playoffs.
The Dragons are raring to get back at the Cagayan de Oro Amigos in their 4 p.m. tiff at the Bren Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, while the Pirates hope to do the same against the Iloilo Megavoltz in their 6:30 p.m. duel at the University of San Agustin gym in Iloilo City.
Pasig-Rizal had its debut at the Ynares Sports Complex in Antipolo ruined by the Megavoltz who took a 95-90 victory last April 16, while the Dragons were tamed by the skidding Amigos, 77-98, a week later.
Currently, Pasig-Rizal (6-3) and Pampanga (6-4) are among the frontrunners for the four conference semifinal slots along with Davao (7-3), Laguna (10-2) and solo leader San Juan (7-1).
The Amigos (4-8) and Megavoltz (3-7) are already out of the race for the Conference playoffs, but the two teams are still expected to come out fighting as the standings of the current conference will be carried over to the next.
Cagayan de Oro got waylaid by Manila Sunday but that does not mean an easy ride for Pampanga, as former Dragon Norman Gonzales continues to put up big games.
Gonzales, who helped Pampanga snare the 1998 National plume, teamed up with Peter Naron for 58 points in their big win over the Dragons. He again paced the Amigos with 26 points and 16 rebounds versus the Metrostars.
The Pirates meantime are coming off a long layoff, though the Megavoltz may not prove to be a tough nut to crack, after they were hit by the exodus of key stars.
Ace point guard Dale Singson went to the Shell team in the PBA in a contract buyout, while prolific scorers Jojo Lim and Roy Lura were traded to Cagayan de Oro and Cebu, respectively, for less fancied cagers.