PBA D-League Final Four battles on today

MANILA, Philippines — Apex Fuel-San Sebastian, Marinerong Pilipino, EcoOil-La Salle and Adalem Construction – St. Clare begin their respective Final Four pushes in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The top-seeded Golden Stags tangle with No. 4 Marinerong Pilipino at 9 a.m. followed by the collision between No. 2 Green Archers and No. 3 Saints at 11 a.m. in the kickoff of the best-of-three semis.

Marinero and St. Clare needed to fend off their gritty counterparts in the quarterfinals to arrange their duels with San Sebastian and La Salle.

“Mabigat pa ring kalaban ang Marinero kaya dapat prepared pa rin kami lalo na sa depensa,” said San Sebastian coach Egay Macaraya.

“St. Clare is still a tough team and as much as we come in as the second seed, we have to respect our opponents,” said La Salle mentor Derrick Pumaren.

The Skippers and the Saints went through the hard way, equipping them with the needed momentum for the semis.

St. Clare needed to pour everything in surviving a two-game stand with No. 6 Builders Warehouse-Santo Tomas capped off by a narrow 90-87 win.