ANTIPOLO — Cam Clark is set to make his PBA return when Converge attempts to stop its descent against a confident Terrafirma side in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup later tonight at the Ynares Center here.
The two teams open the double-header affair at 5:15 PM, with the focus mostly on the FiberXers as they bring in yet another import in a bid to put their harrowing four-game losing skid to rest after a promising 3-0 start.
Clark is already their third reinforcement this conference after the Jalen Hudson and Jamaal Franklin experiments failed to pan out the way they had hoped.
The wide-bodied wing last played in the PBA with Hong Kong Eastern, the last truly competitive guest team the league had welcomed. He will certainly want to start his comeback on a winning note with his new team.
Standing in their way, however, is a Dyip side coming off its most impressive win thus far in the tournament — a 114-109 decision over NLEX last Friday. Terrafirma became the first team to beat the Road Warriors after they won their first six games, making things even more interesting in Group A.
With that win, the Dyip improved to 3-4 and tied Converge for fourth place in the pool. They could completely overtake the struggling FiberXers later should they take care of business — something Coach Ronald Tubid and Co. are bent on doing.
Terrafirma suffered a narrow 105-103 defeat during their first-round encounter last July 15, when their comeback from a 16-point deficit fell just short after they struggled to come up with a proper set on the game’s final possession.
Terrafirma enters the contest as a massive +7.5 underdog, according to Casino Plus sportsbook. The over/under is set at 201.0.
Bets can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
Taking the floor at 7:30 PM in the main game are sister teams yet fierce rivals NLEX and TNT, in another marquee matchup featuring MVP Group teams.
Exactly a week ago, these two teams faced one another, with the Road Warriors showing poise in the endgame to leave the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with an 88-83 win that stretched their then-unbeaten streak to six games.
In their upcoming rematch, however, the defending champions are entering in better form after coming off a 114-80 rout of Titan Ultra last Saturday.
That victory improved their record to 4-3 in Group A, keeping them in third place. Now, they’ll aim to send Coach Jimmy Alapag and his men skidding while securing their fifth win.
None of the NLEX players, though, appears alarmed. That loss even took some pressure off their shoulders, and so the current pool leaders — who still possess the best record in the league — are coming into the sequel more relaxed.
Tonight’s games were supposed to be held at the ‘Ninoy,’ but the PBA ultimately decided to switch venues last Sunday as the old arena remains unplayable due to a roof leak that interrupted the Magnolia-Meralco bout last Friday.
The game between the two MVP Group squads is a toss-up, according to Casino Plus sportsbook, with the Road Warriors holding a slight -1.5 edge. The over/under for total points is pegged at 200.5.
