The Hapee Teethmasters have lost their last three games after sweeping their first five last November to lead the way in the nine-team tournament.
But the skid dropped Hapee to a share of third with Harbour Centre and Toyota Otis with the Teethmasters eyeing to move behind pacesetting Mail & More (7-2) and Henkel Sista-SB (6-3) with a victory over the King Pops in their 2 p.m. encounter.
"I’ve talked to my players and hopefully we can break our slump," said Hapee coach Jun Noel. "We just have to play solid defensively. We tend to relax in the end that’s why we lost our last three games.
Mark Borboran of University of the East is also expected to atone for his so-so outing the last three games where he struggled for only 4.3 points a game.
Clashing in the other game at 4 p.m. are Magnolia Ice Cream and Cebuana Lhuillier Pera Padala with the former out to catch the latter at seventh place.
With a 3-5 (win-loss) record, the Moneymen are out in the race for an outright semis berth but still in contention for an automatic berth in the quarterfinal round.
The top two teams after the classification round will advance outright to the semis while the No. 3 and 4 teams will gain twice-to-beat privileges in the quarters. The next three teams (5 to 7) will then go the knockout phase while the No. 8 and 9 squads will face off first.
The winner between the No. 8 and 9 teams will advance to the second knockout stage where it will face the No. 5 squad. The No. 6 team will battle the No. 7 squad with the victor facing the No. 3 qualifier.
The battle between UAAP MVP Kenneth Bono (Pera Padala) and NCAA MVP Sam Ekwe (Magnolia) is expected to attract much attention since both players are going to prove a point.
The Magnolia Spinners have a 2-6 mark after losing their last two games, including an 81-90 loss to the Toyota Otis Sparks.
Expected to provide Bono the much-needed help are Doug Kramer, Erick dela Cuesta and Macky Escalona.
The entry of Christian Luanzon and Joel Solis is expected to boost Pera Padala’s campaign.
Aside from Ekwe, also expected to deliver for the Spinners are Yousif Aljamal, Jeff Chan, Jonas Villanueva and Bonbon Custodio.