Chargers eye repeat, semis seat vs Shakers

MANILA, Philippines - Big Chill and Fruitas face off today for the last semifinal berth in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup with the Superchargers going for a repeat and the Shakers out to check its skid at the Blue Eagle gym inside the Ateneo campus. 

The Superchargers rode on a big third quarter run to defeat twice-to-beat Shakers, 77-72, and force a rubber match for the last Final Four seat.

Gametime is at 3 p.m.

Despite their win, Big Chill coach Robert Sison said the decider will be an entirely different story although the Superchargers hope to come up with the same result.

“It was total team effort. Fruitas is such a tough team to beat. But we showed some character and poise down the stretch,” said Sison after steering the Superchargers to victory last Tuesday.

Terrence Romeo came away with 29 points and efficiently ran Big Chill’s offense. He also got a lot of support from Mac Montilla, who tallied 22 points, and Jeckster Apinan, who turned in a double-double with 12 markers and 13 rebounds.

 The winner of the match will join top-seed and defending champion NLEX, Blackwater Sports and Boracay Rum in the best-of-three semis.

The Waves advanced to the next round by eliminating EA Regen, 71-68, in the other quarterfinal duel.

Fruitas coach Nash Racela readily admitted his team has been struggling the last two games.

Against Big Chill, the Shakers shot just 31.3 percent from the field and their scoring leader, Carlo Lastimosa, managed just 12 points on 4 of 13 shooting.

The absence of forward Russel Escoto also hurt Fruitas’ inside game. Escoto limped out of the court late in the second quarter with a sprained MCL and his status for today’s game remains doubtful.

“We got to make the necessary adjustments and execute well. That’s the bottom line,” said Racela. “Hopefully we could pull this through.”