TERRAFIRMA is hoping its early preparations for the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup start paying dividends when it takes on a Converge crew also aiming to kick off its own redemption bid Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 4:30 p.m. match is expected to be a rough-and-tumble affair since the protagonists both want to avoid the pitfalls that led to them plummeting in the standings of the last Commissioner's Cup.
More so for the FiberXers, who won just one game in the season-opening tournament and thus finished 12th and dead-last in the field.
Coincidentally, Converge's lone win came at the expense of Terrafirma, causing the latter to stretch a losing skein that would wind up at eight and drop the Dyip to a 2-9 record.
Terrafirma coach Johnedel Cardel said the main reason his team started practices in late January is precisely to iron out its kinks. "Early kaming bumalik sa ensayo," he related.
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"Workout and skills and inuna namin conditioning para maging more prepared kami sa physical game na alam naming dadalhin di lang ng Converge kundi pati na rin ng rest of the field," expounded Cardel.
"Maganda naman ang ine-ensayo ng team and tingin ko ready naman mga bata."
Tempering Cardel's expectations somewhat is the fact Kenmark Carino is out due to a pulled muscle while fellow forward Andreas Cahilig remains a big question mark to be with his wife who recently gave birth.
Possibly left with only Isaac Go, Aldrech Ramos, Eric Camson, and Mark Louie Sangalang to man its frontline, Terrafirma should be at a distinct disadvantage against Converge's stacked paint patrollers led by Justin Arana, Jeo Ambohot, Patrick Maagdenberg, Bryan Santos, Keith Zaldivar, and King Caralipio.
Still, Cardel remains upbeat despite the fact his main players may see extended minutes prior to their match against NLEX on Sunday. "Nakukuha naman ng mga bata ang gusto naming gawin against Converge, based doon sa mga scouting reports namin on them so positive kami na makakalusot," he said.
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"Depensa naman ang pinaka-key against Converge and hopefully ma-implement naming and sana makuha para pagdating ng Sunday mataas lalo ang kompiyansa." (NC)
