Josh Davis. PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — Grand Slam champion Purefoods is on a roll as of late and its three-game winning streak will be put to the test against current leader Meralco in the Hotshots’ final game of the elimination round on Friday.
Already assured of at least a slot in the top five, the Hotshots are now targeting a place in the top two and the twice-to-beat advantage that comes with it against the Bolts, who booted them out last conference.
“Meralco was a team that knocked us out last conference. So they know us well and they play us very well,” Purefoods head coach Tim Cone said.
Meralco slammed the door on Purefoods in the Philippine Cup quarterfinals before losing to eventual finalist Alaska in the second phase of the quarters.
Cone also revealed that he had his eye on Bolts import Josh Davis as Purefoods reinforcement before settling for Daniel Orton.
“Josh Davis was a guy that I wanted to bring over from the D-League. He was my guy,” Cone gushed. “But we didn’t want to pay the buyout fee so we went with guys from China instead.”
“Josh was my favorite player in the D-League. He’s like Rosell Ellis times two with bigger height so I really like Josh,” added Cone, referring to his former import with Alaska Rosell Ellis, who was named Best Import and led the Aces to a championship in the Fiesta Conference.
Davis has been a big reason why Meralco has emerged as the league’s surprise leader in the Commissioner’s Cup averaging 21.4 points, 16.6 rebounds and league-leading 2.5 steals per game.
Cone marveled at Davis play in the NBA’s Developmental League and now he’s tasked to devise a plan to stop him on Friday.