Cagayan, Hapee kick off title duel

MANILA, Philippines - Hapee and Cagayan Valley clash today in the opener of their best-of-three series for the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup crown with odds just about even between two teams that dominated the eliminations.

Though Cagayan had to pass through the proverbial eye of a needle to get into the finals, the Rising Suns remain upbeat but wary of their chances against the Fresh Fighters whom they toppled in the elims.

“We just got lucky,” said Cagayan coach Alvin Pua, referring to their 80-77 conquest of Hapee in a duel of unbeaten teams in the qualifiers.

Cagayan went on to sweep the elims but stumbled to a stubborn Cebuana Lhuillier side in the Final Four, dropping the first game but rebounding with back-to-back victories to seal a dream title duel with Hapee.

Gametime is at 3 p.m. at The Arena in San Juan.

Pua expects the championship series to be a lot more physical than their first encounter with Abel Galliguez, who drilled in a triple with one second left that lifted the Rising Suns past the Fresh Fighters, tipped to lead the team again.

Cagayan is in its second finals appearance, losing to NLEX in the 2012 Foundation Cup championship.

Hapee, meanwhile, hopes to come out strong coming off a long break after sweeping the Café France Bakers in the semis with the Lamoiyan Corp.-owned franchise’s coach Ronnie Magsanoc stressing the need to toughen up on defense. 

“We are looking at a defensive oriented series,” said Magsanoc, who will be faced with a slew of gunners from the Cagayan Valley side. “We must be ready to handle and level up with the physicality of the series.”

Hapee team owner Dr. Cecilio Pedro is also hopeful to get his first crown since the Fash Liquid Detergent won the 2004 Platinum Cup of the now-defunct Philippine Basketball League.