Freego, Big Chill, try to arrange Finals showdown
Big Chill and Freego Jeans try to arrange a championship showdown after stunning upsets against their highly-favored foes Thursday in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Superchargers look to repeat against the NLEX Road Warriors at 2 p.m. while Freego collides with the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems at 4 p.m.
Big Chill and Freego Jeans will attempt to finish the job and clinch the two finals berths after coming up with huge Game One victories.
The Superchargers took advantage of the Road Warriors' inept shooting to take Game One, 83-66, for their second win over the Foundation Cup title holders in as many games.
Big Chill coach Arsenio Dysangco said the Superchargers are not ready to celebrate just yet knowing that NLEX can mount a comeback and force a deciding game.
"We have a chance to make the finals. But we'll just keep it that way. My job now is to make sure the players keep their focus mentally and physically," Dysangco said.
NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez took the blame for the loss and said that the team failed to play defense that could have compensated for their struggles on offense.
The Road Warriors shot a miserable 34.9 percent from the field.
"We allowed them to (take) a lot of easy baskets. But we will bounce back. That's for sure,” Fernadnez said.
NLEX will play Game Two minus Calvin Abueva, who will serve a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul he incurred in the series opener.
Abueva was slapped with a flagrant foul two and was tossed from the match after hitting Jesse Collado in the head late in the third period.
Freego is also expecting Cebuana Lhuillier to go all out in Game Two after defeating the Gems thanks to Roider Cabrera's buzzer-beating three-pointer for a 57-56 victory.
"I'm sure they'll be entering the game with the mindset that there's no tomorrow," said Freego coach Leo Austria. "They're going to hit us with everything they have. I expect Cebuana to play physical from the start."
Cebuana Lhuillier coach Luigi Trillo said that the Gems failed to contain Freego, led by Lester Alvarez's 16-point eruption.
"(Lester) Alvarez, (Raymond) Austria and (Eric) Camson ate us alive. They seem super confident as if they can easily get past our single coverage defense," said Trillo. — AD/JVP, GMA News
Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/245701/sports/basketball/pba-d-league-freego-big-chill-try-to-arrange-finals-showdown
