MANILA – A three-game card will spice up the second day of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup Visayas Leg at the Alcantara Civic Center in Alcantara, Cebu.
A showdown between opening night winners Talisay and Mandaue at 8 p.m. highlights the triple-header as both teams collide in what could possibly be an early preview of the Visayas Finals considering how they made a statement on Friday night.
Talisay made its title intent known right at the inaugural game of the newly founded professional basketball league after ripping Tubigon, 104-66.
Right after that, Mandaue pulled off its own blowout, dealing Siquijor with a 66-46 beating.
While holding Siquijor to the Super Cup's lowest output so far, Coach Mike Reyes believes Mandaue's defense will be put to a test against Talisay.
“This will be the real test of who we are as a team. How we will be able to execute on defense will be the key,” said Reyes.
On the other hand, Talisay captain Paulo Hubalde said that the team has mapped out its strategy for beating Mandaue.
“Na-scout namin game nila (We already scouted their game) and we’ve made adjustments on how they attack and marking their main guys,” said Hubalde. “We have a game plan for them.”
Lapu-Lapu, another opening weekend winner, will also see action as they take on Dumaguete in the curtain-raiser at 2 p.m.
Like Talisay and Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu opened its own campaign in style, blasting Tabogon, 75-61, on Saturday night.
However, Coach Francis Auquico is wary of what Dumaguete can do especially that they came from a heartbreaker also on Saturday night.
The Warriors look to vent ire on the Heroes after blowing a rare 70-point first-half explosion and a 19-point lead to fall to the Mystics.
“We expect them to play hard and they will bounce back kasi nung first game nila natalo sila (in their first game, they lost),” said Auquico. “Yun kasi ang delikado, a team na galing sa talo (A team that came from a loss can be dangerous).”
Knowing that Dumaguete has a solid offensive game as evidenced against Siquijor, Auquico said that Lapu-Lapu focused on offense during practice especially that they somehow struggled on the attack against Tabogon despite the rout.
“During our practice yesterday, nag focus po kami sa offense namin because sa last game, medyo masama yung execution namin (we focused on our offense because, in the last game, our execution was kinda bad,” said Auquico. “We are telling our players to adjust sa kanilang mga kasama (to their teammates) because some of them, bago palang nagsama sa isang team (have only been placed in one team just now).”
The other game at 5 p.m. will feature the Voyagers against the Mariners as they look to barge to the win column.
The triple-headers will be a norm for the next three days even as the week ends with a Saturday doubleheader.
Games on Tuesday
(Alcantara Civic Center)
2:00 p.m.-Dumaguete vs. Lapu-Lapu
5:00 p.m.-Tabogon vs, Tubigon
8:00 p.m.-Talisay vs. Mandaue
(PNA)
