Fernandez says Cignal HD underdog against Marinerong Pilipino; Flying V tackles CEU

Despite coming in as the No. 2 seed, Cignal HD coach Boyet Fernandez believes that his side is at a disadvantage against Marinerong Pilipino in their best-of-three semifinals series in the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup.

“If you look at it, we’re the underdog. We lost to Marinero twice: one practice game, one in the eliminations,” he said, recounting the Hawkeyes’ 66-65 defeat to the Skippers on June 8.

Add to that the arrival of key figures like Robbie Herndon and Renzo Subido to the opposition and we may just be bracing for an upset. “They have a totally different line up from when we faced them,” said Fernandez.

But Cignal has no other choice but to take this challenge head-on as Game 1 of the semifinals begins on Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Fernandez will be counting on Raymar Jose, Jason Perkins and Pamboy Raymundo to stop the tidal wave of Marinerong Pilipino in their 5 p.m. tussle.

“We’ll find a way to matchup with them. We’re excited right now, we’re excited that we made it to the semis right away, but we’ll try to find ways to win against Marinero,” the veteran mentor said.

Skippers coach Koy Banal, meanwhile, is firm in his belief that the Skippers’ miracle run, which now stretches to seven games, could still continue in the semifinals.

In the other series, unbeaten top-seed Flying V wants nothing but to extend its 10-game winning streak against Centro Escolar University at 3 p.m.

However, Thunder coach Eric Altamirano acknowledges that the elimination sweep will be moot if his team doesn’t get the job done.