Terrafirma is out to sustain the momentum it generated from beating no less than the conference’s reigning champions when it takes on Macau in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup later at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Game time is set at 5:15 p.m, with the Dyip hoping to build their first win streak of the season-ending tilt as they’re coming off a 111-106 overtime stunner of TNT last Saturday that sent the traditional contenders to a rare two-game skid.
That gave Coach Ronald Tubid & Co. their second win of the tilt, which took quite a while to come as they lost three in a row after starting with a 130-100 victory over Titan Ultra in the tournament opener last July 10 in Antipolo.
But now that they have rediscovered their winning ways, Terrafirma has no plans of relapsing whatsoever as their sights are now set on winning back-to-back–and keep themselves in the race of what’s been a tough Group A.
However, the Giant Pandas surely aren’t going down without a fight. From a horrid 0-4 start, the guest team finally barged into the win column at the expense of the Giant Risers, 132-126, just last Saturday in Antipolo.
Forward Ramon Cao took over in the endgame by scoring 11 of their last 13 points to finish with 28 points and 13 rebounds, but while he’s always been reliable, the return of Jenning Leung brought renewed hope to the visitors.
Easily one of their best players in the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, the Laguna-raised gunner fired 22 points and seven assists in his comeback.
And definitely, they’d all want to get back at the Dyip this time after suffering a harsh 102-84 beatdown in their meeting during the last conference.
According to Casino Plus Sportsbook, Terrafirma is favored to win, carrying 1.65 moneyline odds, while Macau is pegged as the 2.11 underdog.
Bets can be made here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
(C) PBA Images
Facing off at the 7:30 p.m. main event are Titan Ultra and San Miguel Beer in another Group A affair featuring teams coming off losses.
The neophyte ball club is coming off a loss to Macau, a defeat that brought it back down to earth after its stunning 103-87 upset of the Tropang 5G.
The Beermen, on the other hand, saw their bid to rake in a fourth win in as many outings get spoiled by Jimmy Alapag’s NLEX, 110-96, which enabled the Road Warriors to take sole leadership of the pool with a clean 4-0 record.
Still, the long-time powerhouse is at solo second with a 3-1 record, and would want to bounce back as soon as possible against a team it has a score to settle with.
San Miguel suffered a stunning 119-112 defeat to the Giant Risers in their Commissioner’s Cup opener last March 21, and they would definitely want to earn some measure of payback now that they’re crossing paths once more.
San Miguel heads into the matchup as a heavy favorite with 1.20 moneyline odds based on Casino Plus sportsbook, while the Giant Risers are longshots at 4.03.
