Gems, Bakers seek 5th wins vs dangerous foes

CEBUANA Lhuillier and Café France try to stay in the top four when they tackle dangerous newcomers today in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Gems shoot for a fifth win in the 12 noon game against an EA Regen Med squad fresh off an upset over last conference’s finalist Cagayan Valley.

“I’m very satisfied with the way we’re playing,” said Gems coach Beaujing Acot. “The bigs are getting the rebounds, the guards are making the assists, there are fewer turnovers. For any coach, that’s what you want to see. I’m happy that  we’re improving a lot.”

Café France hopes to get back from a lopsided loss to defending champion NLEX when the Bakers similarly go for a fifth win versus Hog’s Breath Cafe at 4 p.m.

Jumbo Plastic and winless Informatics tangle in the other match at 2 p.m.

“Hog’s is known to be a giant killer after beating Big Chill, so we can’t take them lightly,” said Café France coach Egay Macaraya.

EA Regen stunned Cagayan Valley, 103-92, last Thursday as Clark Bautista (25 points), Raymond Almazan (20 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks) and Ian Sangalang (17 points and 11 rebounds) all came out with huge games.

Still, Acot thinks the Gems can pull off another balanced effort similar to their 101-76 rout of Informatics last week.

“With the way things are going, I believe getting in the top two is achievable,” said Acot.

The top two teams at the end of the single-round eliminations will earn outright semifinal berths, while the next four will play for the two remaining slots in the quarterfinals.