Rising Suns try to keep winning streak rolling

With an outright semifinal berth already secured, Cagayan Valley tries to keep in step with pacesetter Hapee when it tangles with Tanduay Light today in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at JCSGO Gym in Quezon City.

Expect no letup from the Rising Suns in the 4 p.m. duel as they shoot for a ninth straight victory that will allow them to pull level with the idle Fresh Fighters.

But Cagayan will continue to miss coach Alvin Pua who is serving the last of a three-game ban for physical contact with a game official.

“We definitely missed [coach] Alvin. But I think our character … we wanna play as a team regardless who’s coaching us and who’s leading us,” said Cagayan guard Abel Galliguez who had 20 points in Cagayan’s 89-78 win over AMA last Monday.

Tanduay is aching to bounce back from a 68-59 loss to Jumbo Plastic last Monday.

Cafe France aims to lock up the No. 3 spot heading into the quarterfinals as it squares off with Cebuana Lhuillier at 2 p.m. The heavy three-game bill opens with a virtual knockout game pitting Bread Story-Lyceum against Wangs Basketball at noon.

The Bakers are coming off a 20-day break and coach Egay Macaraya is hoping to find their groove early to stand a better chance against the Gems who have won back to back games.

“This is very important game for us,” said Macaraya. “For the first time the franchise has a chance to earn a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs. Although, I’m afraid some of the guys are not yet in game shape because of the long break.”

The Gems are also hoping to boost their chance for a twice to beat edge in the quarterfinals and a win will move them closer to that goal.

The third and fourth placed teams after the single round eliminations will advance to the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat advantage. The bottom six teams will be eliminated, which means another loss for either Wangs or Bread Story will knock them out.