Games Today (Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig City)
1 p.m. – AMA University vs Livermarin
3 p.m. – Keramix vs MP Hotel-Letran
Two teams will make their debut today as the PBA D-League Foundation Cup gets underway at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
ATC LiverMarin-San Sebastian battles AMA University in the tournament opener at 1 p.m. before Coach Caloy Garcia leads Keramix against his former players at MP Hotel-Letran in the other game at 3 p.m.
Livermarin and Keramix are the newest teams in the 10-team tournament.
Also taking part in the season-ending tournament are Aspirants Cup champion Hapee Toothpaste, Cagayan Valley, CaféFrance, Cebuana Lhuillier, Jumbo Plastic and Tanduay Light.
Former PBA cager Rodney Santos has been tapped as coach of ATC Livermarin, which will field players from his alma mater San Sebastian College. His assistant coach is former Barangay Ginebra teammate Bal David.
San Sebastian stars Bradwyn Guinto and Jamil Ortuoste lead Livermarin against AMA, which is led by double-double machine Jay-R Taganas.
In the second game, Garcia will face his Letran players for the first time since he was unceremoniously sacked as Knights mentor after two seasons at the helm.
While he definitely has an axe to grind against MP Hotel – which will reportedly sponsoring Letran beginning the next NCAA campaign – Garcia said it’s business as usual as he tries to give Keramix a rousing debut.
“It’s nothing personal. Alam naman natin ang basketball, eventually makakalaban at makakalaban ko din sila. Pero siyempre sana manalo kami, iba rin kasi pag dati mong team ang kalaban mo e,” said Garcia.
“Ang make up talaga namin is for speed. Wala kaming butas sa guards, pero maliit lang talaga kami. Siguro we’ll make up for it pag tatakbuhan namin sila.”
Nicknamed the Guardians, Keramix was able to land NCAA star Jiovanni Jalanon from the defunct BreadStory-Lyceum. (Christian Jacinto)