CEU coach Yong Garcia. PBA IMAGES
Contenders for the past few conferences in the PBA D-League, Centro Escolar University has suddenly found itself on a precarious position, with its fate hanging in the balance on the final day of the 2017 Foundation Cup eliminations.
But for coach Yong Garcia, he’s just glad that the Scorpions have their luck on their hands.
“It’s a do-or-die game for us, so we know the stakes of the game,” he said in Filipino.
Sitting idle at 5-4, CEU will play its final elimination game against Racal Motors on Tuesday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
A win can propel the Scorpions to as high as the fourth-seed, armed with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals granting if Batangas loses to Flying V in the second game.
However, a defeat will allow Wangs Basketball to take the final ticket to the playoffs, leaving CEU out of the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 Aspirants’ Cup, when it lost the seat to Blackwater due to having an inferior quotient.
That scenario might be in play again if the Scorpions succumb to the also-ran Racal. The loss will put them on level with the Couriers at 5-5, but Wangs, thanks to its slim 88-87 win over CEU last May 30, will be the one to earn the final quarterfinal spot due to the win-over-the-other rule.
Garcia is well aware of his team’s situation. That’s why the youthful coach has optimized the week-long break since the Scorpions absorbed the 96-89 loss to Cignal HD and prepared for this must-win tiff.
“The team has been preparing and training hard for the game. I always remind the boys to give their best, play hard, focus, and execute. That’s the only way we’ll advance to the quarterfinals. We know we’ll be ready,” he said.
CEU will lean on Congolese big man Rod Ebondo, Aaron Jeruta, and JK Casiño in hopes of advancing to the playoffs. JE