Games Monday San Juan Arena,
1 p.m. – Cagayan Valley vs Jumbo Plastic
3 p.m. – Cebuana Lhuillier vs Tanduay Light
Cebuana Lhuillier is off to a 3-0 start but coach Boycie Zamar isn’t exactly pleased.
While they have displayed resiliency and ability to dominate in their success against Café France, MP Hotel and Kera Mix, Zamar has maintained the Gems still need improvement.
“The team still lacks character. We also need to play consistent,” Zamar observed.
He hopes the Gems could satisfy expectation when they face the Tanduay Light Rhum Masters on Monday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup.
The scheduled 3 o’clock encounter at The Arena in San Juan follows the 1 p.m. matchup between Cagayan Valley and Jumbo Plastic.
Cebuana led by as many as 34 points in its 95-88 victory against Kera Mix but inconsistencies in the second half and lack of killer instinct allowed the Mixers to narrow the gap.
Jaded observers and coaches of opposing teams have considered the Gems the team to beat tis conference considering their bench depth. Zamar isn’t convinced, though.
“We still have a lot of room for improvement. If we can play consistently and win convincingly, I might be convinced that we’re the team to beat.”
Simon Enciso scored 24 points on 7 of 9 shooting from 3-point range and Mo Tautuaa tallied 24 and 10 rebounds against Kera Mix.
Tanduay Light opened its campaign with a 79-61 win against Jumbo Plastic but went down in defat in its next two assignments due to its inability to finish the game. Whether they can avoid a third straight loss will be a challenge for the Rhum Masters.
Meanwhile, second placed Jumbo Plastic tries to win three in a row and stay close behind Cebuana Lhuillier. The Giants (2-1) are currently tied with idle Hapee, the reigning Aspirants; Cup champion.
Cagayan Valley, on the other hand, is tied with Tanduay Light at seventh and eighth spots with 1-2 cards. The Rising Sun’s last two defeats were practically disappointing because they dominated most of the game only to lose steam in the closing minutes.