The Lakers blasted the Eagles, 142-107 last Sept. 30 and will go into their 3 p.m. encounter fancied to notch their 10th win in 13 games and firm up their hold of second place in the Northern Conference.
Winding up as No. 2 qualifier is important for the Lakers since it would give the team the homecourt advantage in the best-of-three semifinal series where it will most likely face Andok’s San Juan anew.
The Knights bowed to the Lakers, 85-95, last Wednesday and must sweep their last three games to stay in the fight for second place.
Fil-Ams Chris Clay and Jeffrey Flowers are again expected to lead the Lakers’ bid over the Eagles, whose three-game run was abruptly snapped by an 87-103 loss to LBC Batangas last Friday.
Meanwhile, Negros tackles also-ran Nueva Ecija in the 5 p.m. game with the pacesetting Slashers heavily favored to post their ninth victory against four losses and fortify their hold of the lead in the southern side.