Welcoat steps up finals bid vs Hapee

With Viva Mineral Water-FEU already in the finals, Welcoat tries to zero in on the other berth as it takes on defending champion Hapee Toothpaste today even as newcomer Toyota Otis-Letran hopes to stay in the hunt against the top team in the PBL Unity Cup at the Makati Coliseum.

Hapee and Welcoat, two teams with similar winning legacy to protect, collide at 2 p.m. in a game expected to be as exciting and bruising as their title series in the last conference.

The Paint Masters are hoping to play with the same fire and intensity they dished out in beating the Water Force, 81-67, last Tuesday to boost their bid for a second straight stint in the best-of-5 finals.

The Knights, the reigning NCAA champions, battle the Water Force at 4 p.m. with the Intramuros-based squad desperately seeking its first win over the UAAP titlist in what many dubbed as showdown of the collegiate champions.

Viva-FEU is way ahead of the group with an 11-2 record followed by Welcoat (8-5), Hapee (6-7) and Toyota-Letran (5-8).

Toyota-Letran has not beaten Viva-FEU in three times they clashed this conference but coach Louie Alas still remains optimistic they can beat the country’s premier collegiate squad.

"Viva-FEU is really a tough squad because they (Water Force) have the needed experience in their side. Aside from that, they have the height, heft and speed," said Alas. "Pero malay mo, baka makaisa kami sa kanila ngayon."

With a 1-2 mark in the ongoing double round robin semis, the Knights have to sweep their last three games — the same thing for the defending champion Teeth Sparklers — to avail of the 4-of-6 incentive rule. Under this rule, a team that wins four games

will have the privilege to face the No. 2 team in a playoff match for the second finals slot.

Welcoat has also beaten Hapee twice but with the big win by the Teeth Sparklers over the Knights, 75-54 last Tuesday, coach Junel Baculi is hoping that today’s game will be a different one, noting the splendid performance of Cebu standout Reed Juntilla.

"Grabe ang ibinigay niyang energy sa team namin, I just hope he would lead us again against Welcoat," said Baculi. "Noon medyo nahihirapan si Reed sa amin pero ngayon mukhang adjusted na siya at nakita mo naman ang laro nya."

The 19-year-old rookie from University of Visayas humbled all guards thrown at him, including Aaron Aban, as he netted a career-high 21 points on an impressive 9-of-11 shooting from the field.

The 6-foot-1 Juntila is expected to be pitted either against fellow Cebuano Jojo Tangkay or Chester Tolomia who are Welcoat’s leading scorers.