Games Today (Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig City)
12 noon – Racal Motors vs Tanduay Light
2 p.m. – Café France vs Bread Story-LPU
Manila, Philippines – CafeFrance looks to enter its Christmas break on a positive note when it takes on Bread Story-LPU in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup today at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Fresh off a 70-55 beating from the Hapee Fresh Fighters, the Bakers hope to charge that loss to experience as they lick their wounds and focus on getting their sixth win in eight games against the Bakers.
“We did everything right in the first half. But sad to say the guys forget that a basketball game is played for four quarters. (However) there’s a lot of lesson that could be learned from that loss,” said CafeFrance coach Egay Macaraya.
Missing in that game was Cameroonian big man Rod Ebondo, who was limited to just five points as he struggled against the likes of Ola Adeogun and Arnold Van Opstal.
Macaraya looks forward to this game against the Smashing Bakers in the hopes that his team has learned quickly from a three-day turnaround.
And while CafeFrance is just days removed from its last match, Bread Story-LPU, on the contrary, have not played a single game since December 1, a 97-89 loss to AMA University.
Regardless, Macaraya insists he’s not taking chances against the Smashing Bakers.
“(Bread Story-LPU) is a running team. Hopefully we can catch up with them and make stop,” Macaraya said.
In the first game, Tanduay Light targets its third straight victory as it takes on Racal Motors at 12 noon.
At sixth place with a 3-4 record, the Rhum Masters look to improve on their hold of the final spot in the quarterfinals as the league enters the second stretch of the conference.
Hot on Tanduay’s heels is Alibaba, not that far behind with a 2-4 record.
The top two teams after the eliminations will get outright semifinal berths while the next four after that will qualify for the quarterfinals.