BOTH clearing the pathway to the playoffs in their last outings, the Magnolia Hotshots and the Bay Area Dragons now pursue the road to the Top 2 as they slug it out Saturday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The Hotshots and the Dragons square off at 6:45 p.m. in a vital tiff where the winning side secures at least a tie for second spot at the close of the one-round-robin elims phase of the mid-season tourney.
Dragons coach Brian Goorjian is vocal in their desire to reach that destination and its reward of a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
"We have the opportunity to finish first or second and get the advantage of a double try in the first round of the playoffs and we're focused on that," said Goorjian after nailing their eighth win in 10 outings with a 118-98 disposal of the NLEX Road Warriors Sunday.
Now comes a big game that is a virtual playoff match.
Sponsored content:
The Hotshots set the pace in the race to the top at 8-1, with the Dragons a shade behind at joint second spot with the Converge FiberXers at 8-2. A fourth team in the rumble for the Top 2 are the Barangay Ginebra Kings at 5-2.
Nick Rakocevic could be a big edge for the Hotshots at the paint but Myles Powell is to pose a big problem to Magnolia with his great all-around talent topped by his explosiveness offensively.
In reassuming duty as the Bay Area import, Powell first churned out a 50-point juggernaut then put in 36 points, eight rebounds and six steals to get the Dragons back on a roll after going 2-2 (win-loss) with Andrew Nicholson.
The Dragons are 6-0 with Powell.
The assignment to take on the NBA veteran could fall on Calvin Abueva, and that could well be an exciting, rugged matchup.
Sponsored content:
Then there's Magnolia's pesky guard rotation that is likely to press hard and make things tough for their Bay Area counterparts -- a regular gem of an effort in the Hotshots' hot, hot run in the tourney. (SB)
