Still reeling from their Aspirants’ Cup defeat, all the Café France-Centro Escolar University Bakers want is to avenge their heartbreaking loss to the Phoenix-FEU Accelerators.
On Thursday, the Bakers can do just that when they start their title defense, as the 2016 PBA D-League Foundation Cup begins at Ynares Sports Arena.
Parading an complete lineup led by Paul Zamar, Carl Bryan Cruz, and Congolese big man Rod Ebondo, Café France have emerged as one of the favorites to snare the title.
And the boys of coach Egay Macaraya want to show that the Bakers are no pushovers, and issue a warning to the rest of the league, when they face Topstar ZC Mindanao Aguilas at 2:00 p.m. “We can’t wait to get back to the court,” Macaraya said.
Café France, however, will be facing a different Aguilas crew, as the Mindanao dribblers have bolstered their lineup with the acquisition of former UAAP Rookie of the Year JR Cawaling and Robin Rono.
In the second game, the Tanduay Rhum Masters also hope to sustain a promising showing in the first conference as they brace for a gutted AMA Online Education Titans team at 4:00 p.m.
“After making the semis and failing to advance further in the previous conference, I’m pretty sure that it’s just logical for us to aspire to hurdle that phase this time around,” said coach Lawrence Chongson.
Banking on veterans Rudy Lingganay and Val Acuna, the Rhum Masters will also enjoy having new recruits Gelo Alolino and Louie Vigil in their side.
On the other hand, Rey Publico and Jaycee Asuncion are tasked to lead the Titans this time out. However, the Titans have lost Filipino-Americans Jeremy King and Rashawn McCarthy in their lineup.
