MANILA, Philippines?Hapee Toothpaste, still trying to flash its old murderous form, seeks revenge against Noosa Shoes at 4 p.m. on Thursday in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at The Arena in San Juan City.
With their dramatic 85-83 double-overtime triumph against Burger King still fresh in their memories, the Complete Protectors hope to perform better and avenge their stunning first-round loss to the Shoe Stars.
?The team hasn?t lost its character,? said coach Louie Alas as his Complete Protectors try to strengthen their hold of second place.
Pharex, sharing second spot with Hapee at 5-3, will also vie to keep their position against skidding San Mig Coffee at 2 p.m.
The Shoe Stars? 77-76 upset win last month left the fancied Complete Protectors struggling with their confidence as they lost two of their next three games.
?I know they can do better,? said Alas of his star-studded roster led by Fil-Am Gabe Norwood, Mark Borboran, Larry Rodriguez and Reed Juntilla.
Alas, who took over from the resigned Jun Noel this conference, added: ?I think they?re still adjusting, especially defensively. Good thing this is a long tournament.?
Noy Javier, who nailed the game-winning triple at the buzzer against Hapee, will lead the Shoe Stars? assault along with NCAA Most Valuable Player Kelvin dela Peña.
But coach Leo Isaac needs more consistent plays from the rest of his lineup to improve Noosa?s 3-4 card.
The Shoe Stars absorbed an 85-74 loss to Toyota Otis despite a 22-point performance of the streak-shooting Javier last Saturday.
Veterans Ronnie Bughao, Don Villamin and Ronnie Matias will also try to bring back Pharex?s confidence following back-to-back setbacks against Burger King, 82-78, and the unbeaten Harbour Centre, 99-79.
?There?s still a lot of room for improvement,? said Pharex coach Carlo Tan.
As the Medics try to arrest their back-to-back slide, the Koy Banal-mentored Coffee Kings hope to work on their end-game performance after dropping their last three matches by just an average of five points. Jasmine W. Payo
