Llamados shoot for quarterfinal bonus, battle winless Clickers today

MANILA, Philippines—With A talent-laden roster that’s learning to play together under a new coach, B-Meg is tipped as the overwhelming pick to roll past winless Shopinas.com Thursday and claim the second twice-to-beat quarterfinal privilege in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Gametime is 5:15 p.m. with the second-running Llamados (9-4) looking to extend the tournament’s longest winning streak to eight games and formally seal a record in futility for the also-ran Clickers.

Barangay Ginebra tries to win a third straight game at 7:30 p.m. when the Gin Kings slug it out with Barako Bull.

The Clickers have lost their first 13 games in the league and could become the first team to lose 14 straight outings and end a conference with as many losses.

In 37 years of the league, only defunct Country Fair failed to win a single game in a conference by dropping all 13 of its matches. Presto also lost its first 13 games in 1982 then won two of its last five for a 2-16 record.

“We can’t take them for granted because they will surely play all out to win (a first game),” B-Meg coach Tim Cone said last week. “We have to be very careful against them.”

The Llamados can book a top two slot with a win and leave sister team Petron Blaze in fourth. The top two seeds earn the incentive of needing just a win in the quarterfinals to advance.

This game is important for the Gin Kings because a win would seal their place in the best-of-three semifinal series.