Game Saturday (Naga City Coliseum)
6:45 p.m. – Petron Blaze vs Meralco
Games Sunday (Smart-Araneta Coliseum)
4:15 p.m. – Talk ’N Text vs Powerade
6:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs Barako Bull
MANILA, Philippines — Petron Blaze seeks revenge Saturday when it battles Meralco in the PBA Philippine Cup as it presses its bid for one of two twice-to-beat privileges in the quarterfinal round.
The Boosters and the Bolts collide in this lone encounter at 6:45 p.m. in the PBA road-game presented by Phoenix Fuel.
Both Petron (7-3) and Meralco (7-4) are still in contention for that twice-to-beat advantage with the No. 1 and 2 teams facing the No. 7 and 8 qualifiers, respectively. The incentive will be given to the top two teams after the elimination round.
It was 80-70 in Meralco’s favor when it first met Petron last Oct. 22, with point guard Sol Mercado recording 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in his season debut after missing the team’s first three games with a left knee injury.
Mercado has remained injury-free, and the Bolts had two more players coming back from injuries – guard Mark Cardona (ankle) and veteran forward Reynel Hugnatan (shoulder) – over the course of the elimination round.
Meralco also won its last two games, including an 83-75 victory over Barako Bull last Wednesday that clinched the Bolts a playoff berth with a 7-4 record. Cardona finished with 17 points while Asi Taulava added 10 points and 17 boards.
However, Meralco will face a Petron side that is riding the crest of a four-game winning streak after impressive wins opposite Barako Bull (75-66), Rain or Shine (90-80), newcomer Shopinas.com (102-77) and Alaska (86-80).
“Petron is not an easy customer, they are an elite team with great individual players,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio. “The amazing fact is the way they have limited their opponents to less than 80 en route to their four-game win streak.”
For Meralco to win again against Petron, Gregorio said they have to play even tougher on defense, which was a key in their victory over Barako Bull.
“Our defense held up (against Barako Bull), and the same defense must be present to limit some of Petron’s players,” said Gregorio, who mentioned the names of Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Danny ldefonso, comebacking Lordy Tugade and rookie Chris Lutz.
“We are safely in the playoffs and with three games left, we want to secure a slot in the top two at best, or top six at worst, a motivation that we would like to pursue,” Gregorio added.
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