Monday, February 04, 2008 USJ-R to erect wall vs. UC’s Fajardo
AFTER being uncontested for 15 straight times in different competitions, Bibbo Hotdog-University of San Jose-Recoletos, which is fresh off another victory, is still wary of their chances in the final round of the Reinforced Partners Cup, set to start tomorrow at the Cebu Coliseum.
During a break in their championship of the Hotel Fortuna Cup, where they came out the champion, Bibbo-USJR head coach Edito Salacot said they are still not sure of their chances against Aspac Bank-University of Cebu, which they will meet in the best-of-three title round of the Partners Cup.
“We can’t take our chances with UC. Most especially that they have Fajardo,” Salacot said, emphasizing that UC’s 6-foot-7 behemoth center Junmar Fajardo will be their biggest threat.
Fajardo had been a huge factor for the UC Webmasters scoring a record-breaking 50 points in the competition.
Salacot made the humbling claim despite steering USJ-R to 15 straight wins after last year’s Cesafi and after defeating Aspac-UC twice in the Partners Cup elimination round.
“The first time, we won because UC was not too aware. During the second encounter, we had a hard time and I know they will not make it easy,” Salacot said.
Salacot, however, said that they have the edge when it comes to conditioning because his is a more veteran team, who has been together for a long time and they have been competing in several competitions and that their main focus for tomorrow’s Game 1 will be on stopping Fajardo.
“We will be putting defenders on him to make sure we limit his production and to try and stop their guards as well,” Salacot said.
On the other hand, Aspac-UC, despite losing twice to USJ-R in the elimination, remains positive in their chances against USJ-R in the finals.
UC head coach Rhoel Gomez pins high hopes on his prized center, Fajardo, whom he believes can lift the team to victory against Bibbo-USJ-R.
Apart from this, Gomez also said that the pressure will be on USJ-R’s shoulder as they are the seeded team in this tournament and playing with lesser pressure will be a good thing for them. (MCB)
