Rising Suns battle Giants

GAMES TODAY (Ynares Sports Arena)
2 p.m.—Cagayan Valley vs Jumbo Plastic
4 p.m.—Cafe France vs M-Builders

CAGAYAN Valley and Jumbo Plastic hope to stay within striking distance of the top two teams when they tangle in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup today at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Rising Suns and the Giants battle at 2 p.m.,  before Cafe France goes for a fifth win against Zambales M-Builders at 4 p.m.

Only six teams from the 14-team field will advance to the next round, with the top two earning outright semifinal berths.

Both the Rising Suns (6-2) and the Giants (5-1) trail idle leaders Hog’s Breath Cafe (6-0) and Big Chill (6-1).

In another development, PBA commissioner Chito Salud yesterday slapped a one-game suspension on NLEX center Ola Adeogun for head-butting Big Chill’s Dexter Maiquez.

The incident got Adeogun ejected and assessed with a flagrant foul penalty 2 during the Road Warriors’ 97-88 triumph over the Superchargers last Monday.

Jumbo Plastic coach Steve Tiu hopes the Giants’ 10-day break won’t get in the way of their game plan.

“A long break tends to disrupt your rhythm, and at times, gets you rusty,” said Tiu.

The Giants, who hold down opponents to a league-best 64 points per game, also aim to keep their defensive game in high gear against the Rising Suns.