D-League: Elite seek lead versus Tigers Tuesday

MANILA, Philippines—A week after opening the tournament with a lopsided triumph, Blackwater Sports goes for the solo lead in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup Tuesday.

But coach Leo Isaac hopes his Elite won’t be too cocky when they tackle an unfamiliar opponent in Junior Powerade at 4 p.m. at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.

“We won by a big margin, so they might think we’re already okay,” said Isaac. “But there are still the nitty-gritty that I need to emphasize. We have to improve our chemistry and there are still loopholes in our game.”

Erase Placenta tries to rebound from its opening-day loss against fellow newcomer Cagayan Rising Suns earlier at 2 p.m.

The Erase crew hopes to take advantage of the absence of Cagayan head coach Alvin Pua, who was slapped with a three-game suspension and a P50,000 fine for assaulting a referee in a tuneup match.

Assistant coach Francis Rodriguez will call the shots for the debuting Suns, who are led by JR Bulangis and Lucas Tagarda.

In another development, Big Chill tapped Robert Sison as its new mentor following the surprise resignation of Arsenio Dysangco just days after the Superchargers’ first game.

Blackwater kicked off the conference Tuesday with an 88-67 rout of RnW Pacific Pipes behind Gio Ciriacruz and recruits AJ Mandani, Robby Celiz, Paul Zamar and Kelly Nabong.

But Isaac said his Elite have yet to see the Junior Powerade squad in action.

“I’m sure they’ve scouted us, but we have yet to see them play,” said Isaac. “All we know is that this team is composed of collegiate players from UP.”

“We’ll give them a good fight, we’ll see what happens,” said Tigers coach Ricky Dandan, who’s relying on Jett Manuel, Mike Gamboa, Mike Silungan and Alvin Padilla.