Batang Pier, Fuel Masters seek equalizers
Terrence Romeo of GlobalPort and Phoenix's Karl Dehesa | PBA Images
MANILA, Philippines – GlobalPort and Phoenix already know why they hit a snag against their respective foes in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals last weekend.
And they will look to iron out the kinks in hopes of equalizing their respective quarterfinals series today – the Batang Pier against the KaTropa and the Fuel Masters versus the Hotshots – later today at the Big Dome.
"[It's] our worst game of the conference," GlobalPort head coach Franz Pumaren said. "The second group wasn't able to contribute. They made a run, but the momentum still swung in favor of TNT."
READ: TnT wary of GlobalPort comeback
"None of us want an early vacation," said Phoenix's star rookie Matthew Wright. "Coach [Ariel Vanguardia] said the season's not over yet. We can't beat ourselves over this (loss)."
"This one stings because I felt like the team played really well in the first half. I'm not gonna get over this immediately," he added.
In the quarterfinals opener, GlobalPort ran out of gas against TNT. Phoenix, on the other hand, had it worse. They almost replicated a massive blowout at the hands of Star.
"It’s not even about scoring, it’s about getting stops and we didn’t do that at all, especially in the second half. We gave up too many offensive rebounds, they got a lot of easy points from the free throw line so we have to fix that," Wright noted.
"Looking at the history of the conference, Stanley and Terrence play well when they have limited minutes on the court. But this time, I was forced to extend their minutes because we didn't get any production from my other guys," Pumaren offered.
"I'm still confident that we can level the series," he added.
READ: Pingris, Lee step up to steer Star to proper direction
The Fuel Masters and Hotshots will take centerstage while 4:15 p.m., while the KaTropa and the Batang Pier will cap the night off.
Only defending Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer has been able to punch a semifinals ticket after wringing Rain or Shine Sunday night. Seventh-seeded Barangay Ginebra pulled off a stunning victory over Alaska in the second game to stay alive.
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