By REYNALD MAGALLON
Games Today
(Ynares Center Montalban)
5:15 p.m. — Phoenix vs Titan Ultra
7:30 p.m. — NLEX vs Magnolia
NLEX and Phoenix aim to quickly follow up their winning starts when they lock horns against separate foes in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Montalban.
Both squads, which had to dig deep to survive their opening assignments, gun for a 2-0 start and pile up victories early in the mid-season conference.
The Fuel Masters take on the Titan Ultra Giant Risers in the first offering at 5:15 p.m. before the Road Warriors clash against the Magnolia Hotshots in the second game at 7:30 p.m.
Both Titan Ultra and Magnolia dropped their first assignments and they should be raring to finally barge into the win column this time.
But for Phoenix, having defeated a team like Magnolia, 101-98, is a big step towards the right direction especially for a rebuilding squad under new head coach Charles Tiu.
“It’s big for us,” said Tiu. “We really talked about how important this first game is. We wanted to start the season on a winning note. We’ve got a back-to-back. We can’t celebrate yet because we played Titan on Sunday.”
“We definitely wanted to make a bang,” he added.
Import James Dickey III will be at the forefront of the attack for Phoenix after a 20-point, 26-rebound performance alongside local stars like Jason Perkins, Ricci Rivero, Ken Tuffin and Evan Nelle who had crucial baskets late against Magnolia.
But the Giant Risers are certainly no pushover with import Michael Gilmore exploding for 33 points in PBA debut. He, however, needed more from the Titan Ultra locals with Joshua Munzon the only other double-digit scorer with 32 in their 112-82 loss to Terrafirma.
NLEX, on the other hand, after barely surviving the upset-conscious Blackwater, 84-81, will have a tough task on containing Magnolia in their second game.
But head coach Jong Uichico believes his crew is up for the task although he admitted they are still in the process of developing their chemistry after adding some new pieces during the offseason.
“In our case we changed personnel so we’re still looking for the right combination or chemistry. But mabuti na lang na-overcome namin ang gandang laro ng Blackwater. I think it was our experience in the end na lang,” said Uichico.
Robert Bolick, who nailed a dagger triple against the Bossing, is expected to spearhead the Road Warriors as his team cannot afford to suffer from the bad start against Magnolia.
