Road Warriors seek win No. 3 versus Tigers

MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion NLEX tries to make it three in a row as it takes on Jr Powerade today while Cebuana Lhuillier seeks a second straight win against Café France in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Road Warriors struggled before hurdling Big Chill and RnW Pacific Pipes with coach Boyet Fernandez expecting another tough day against the Tigers in the 2 p.m. contest.

“We must not be complacent. This team has just beaten a pre-tournament powerhouse. We have to stay with our system if we want to win,” Fernandez said.

Jr Powerade opened its campaign with a stunning 84-79 victory over Blackwater Sports last week.

The other games pit Cebuana Lhuillier against Café France at 4 p.m. while Boracay Rum and RnW Pacific Pipes kick off the three-game bill at 12 noon.

The Gems are coming off a 70-58 rout of the Waves, who, on the other hand, are aiming to bounce back against the Steel Masters (0-2).  

 Fernandez said it remains uncertain whether center Ian Sanggalang and power forward Calvin Abueva would be able to rejoin the team.

“I have no idea when they’ll be back. But I hope they could join the team in time for our game against Powerade,” said Fernandez of his two stars, who missed last game because they are playing for the school in an invitational tournament.

Meanwhile, Cliff Hodge, Garvo Lanete, Jaypee Belencion, Woody Co and Borgy Hermida have been summoned by PBA commissioner Chito Salud to give their side on the fighting incident that marred the NLEX-PC Pipes game last Thursday.   

After a relatively easy victory against Boracay Rum, coach Luigi Trillo of Cebuana Lhuillier said he expects to have their hands full against Café France.

“Café France is for real. They won by 20 in their first game against Erase Plantcenta and led most of the way before losing to Big Chill,” Trillo said.

For the second straight game, the Gems will be without injured center Yousef Taha and point guard Lester Alvarez.

“But I have faith with the other that we have – Bacon Austria, Janus Lozada, Simoin Atkins, James Mangahas and Chris Eximiniano. They are smart players who are adapting well to our system and sharing the offensive load.