Games Today (The Arena, San Juan)
10 a.m. – Derulo Accelero vs Cebuana Lhuillier
12nn – Jumbo Plastic vs Blackwater Sports
2p.m. – Cagayan Valley vs Big Chill
Big Chill coach Robert Sison said the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns are a tough read with their retooled roster.
The Rising Suns opened their campaign in the 2014 PBA DLeague Foundation Cup with a 69-79 loss to Boracay Rum but Sison thought they were impressive.
Sison and his troops take their turn to test the new-look Rising Suns on Monday with the Superchargers aiming to win two in a row and a share of the early.
Gametime is 2 p.m.of another triple bill scheduled at The Arena in San Juan. The other games pit Derulo Accelero against Cebuana Lhuillier at 10 o’clock while Jumbo Plastic takes on defending champion Blackwater Sports at 12 noon.
“They’re practically a different team. They might not have big name players in the lineup but I don’t think they’re a ragtag team. Right now it’s hard to figure their strength. But certainly, we’re not taking them lightly,” Sison said.
Big Chill opened its campaign with an 81-73 victory against Hog’s Breath Café (0-2) last Tuesday behind Jeckster Apinan (18 points), Dexter Maiquez (11 points) and Quinton Heruela (10 points). The Superchargers are again counting on another big game from the trio.
Cebuana Lhuller is also seeking a second straight to join early leaders NLEX and Café France on top of the standings but coach Boysie Zamar anticipates a tough challenge from the Oilers.
“It’s always nice to win the first game. Hopefully, we could build on this. I expect Derulo to come out aggressive next game so we have to stay focused,’ Zamar said.
Meanwhile, defending champion Blackwater Sports attempt to bounce back from last week’s blowout loss to NLEX when it takes Jumbo Plastic in a rematch between the two teams that played against each other in the quarterfinals of the Aspirants’ Cup.
As a third-seed with a twice-to-beat advantage, the Giants were ousted by the Elite, who eventually lost to the Superchargers in the semifinals.
Jumbo Plastic also lost its first game against Cebuana Lhuillier, 54-60, last Tuesday.
The absence of Reil Cervantes will hurt Blackwater Sports’ offense. The rugged forward has been suspended for one game and fi ned R5,000 by PBA Commissioner Chito Salud in connection of his flagrant foul 2 for punching center Ola Adeogun late in the game of their lost to the Road Warriors.
