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CAFE France and Phoenix-Far Eastern University collide one last time in what has been an unpredictable title series in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup Thursday.
Both vowing to go all out, the Bakers and the Accelerators dispute the championship in Game 5 at 3 p.m. at Ynares Sports Arena.
“You’ve seen two good teams fighting,” said Cafe France coach Egay Macaraya. “No matter what happens, the two teams deserve this series. Hopefully, we’ll be able to beat Phoenix.”
The Accelerators had a shot at wrapping up the best-of-five series in Game 4 last Tuesday, but the Bakers held on in the final stretch for a 100-94 triumph that kept their back-to-back title bid alive.
“As the oldest player in the team, I don’t want to let my team down,” said Cafe France guard Paul Zamar, who shone with 25 points in his last outing.
The Accelerators took Game 1 (81-77) and Game 3 (85-84) behind the core of FEU stars led by Mac Belo, Mike Tolomia and Roger Pogoy.
They had hoped to bag the crown by riding on their thrilling Game 3 escape where Pogoy buried a game-winning triple and also on Belo capturing the Most Valuable Player plum.
“It won’t mean much if we don’t get the championship,” said Belo.