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TWO SEMIS BERTHS AT STAKE

Whoppers battle Realtors; Giants face Elasto Painters

06/14/2009

Games today (Araneta Coliseum)

4:00 p.m. — Sta. Lucia vs. Burger King

6:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs. Purefoods

Burger King clash with Sta Lucia Realty while Rain or Shine goes up against Purefoods in a pair of interesting quarterfinal games where the winners — after a long layoff — will advance to the semifinals of the 2009 Motolite-PBA Fiesta Conferece.

The Whoppers and the Realtors meet in the first tussle at 4 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum in a game where coaches of both teams are expected to put much premiums on defense.

“The team is upbeat and ready to play,” said Burger King coach Yeng Guiao, brimming with confidence after leading Powerade RP team to a victory in SEABA tournament via sweep in Medan, Indonesia.

“The coaching staff did a good job keeping the team sharp while I was away. Defense is still the key. We must keep their import under control and put pressure on their three point shooters,” Guiao said.

The Realtors won Game One of the best-of-three quarterfinal series last May 31, 93-84, but the Whoppers bounced back in Game Two, 94-81 last June 3, before the league took a long break to give way for the nationals campaign in Medan.

With the series now levelled at one game apiece, SLR coach Boyet Fernandez sees it as great motivation for the Realtors, even if they will play without starter Ryan Reyes, who was injured in the Medan joust.

“It’s a knockout game tomorrow. So if you lose, you are eliminated. That’s more than enough motivation for us,” said Fernandez. “My concern is we’re playing without Ryan Reyes because of his problem with hamstring injury he suffered in Indonesia.”

“Our plan for the game is the same: play good defense if we want to make it to the semis. We’re well-prepared and ready for the game,” he said.

The Elasto Painters will try to nail their first ever semifinal stint in the league, but will have to contend with a determined Purefoods team, which carries some amount of momentum in the 6:30 p.m. Game after taking Game Two, 84-82, last June 3 that also necessitated the deciding game Three.

“We are determined to survive ands stay alive,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

“Our goal is to fight ‘til the end to win our third knock-out game. We have fought strong and hard to stave off elimination and we will do whatever it takes to keep on playing in this conference,” he said.

The Elasto Painters won Game One last May 31, 96-87. They will be playing San Miguel Beer in the best-of-seven semifinals if they prevail anew today.

The long break, according to Gregorio, gave his Giants the needed rest after getting worn out by playing two to three games since the wild card phase.

“We have prepared extensively against Rain or Shine during the long break. Part of the plan is to show Jai Lewis and challenge the outside sniping of Rob Rob Wainwright,” Gregorio said.

“All it takes is one game and we will grab the last semifinbals seat. It is a great motivation for us since we have failed to make the playoffs in the last two conference and we are excited to play tomorrow (today),” added Gregorio.