Game Today (Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan;
Game 2 of Best-of-3 Finals, Cignal leads, 1-0)
3:45 p.m. – MVP awarding
4 p.m. – Cignal-San Beda vs Racal
Expectations weren’t grand for Cignal-San Beda at the start of the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
Undergoing changes and reverting back to coach Boyet Fernandez, the main goal for the Hawkeyes was to foster chemistry with the team before the collegiate season tips off.
But today, the team can achieve something more as Cignal-San Beda seeks to sweep the best-of-three championship series against Racal at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
More importantly, a title conquest would further cement Fernandez’s status as the winningest coach in league history as he guns for his seventh championship in eight Finals appearances.
However, the seasoned mentor knows that closing out a series, especially in the title picture, is easier said than done.
“Racal is a team capable of coming back,” said Fernandez, as he looked back on Cignal’s slim 93-85 Game 1 win on Thursday where it squandered a 21-point lead and had to fend off a late rally from the Tile Masters. “If you give Racal that kind of defense we had in fourth quarter, then we have a problem.”
Wary of his team’s supposed let-ups late in the game, Fernandez hopes that the Hawkeyes understand the position they’re in, telling them that rest is for the weary.