Sunday, August 31, 2008 Cebu Niños expect tough semis matchup
ON Sept. 2, the M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños will be facing an acid test against the Lipa/Batangas Barakos when the semifinal round of the 2008 Liga Pilipinas Smart Playoffs starts at the Cebu Coliseum.
Alcoseba, Cebu’s winningest basketball coach admitted that it will not be a walk in the park when they face the Barakos int he best-of-five series.
“The Barakos have a lot of veteran players on their line up. This (series) will be a true test for our players,” said Alcoseba.
Sweep
Alcoseba is referring to MBA veterans Jeffrey Sanders and Ariel de Castro and PBA players Braulio Lim and Don Camaso.
The Barakos eliminated the highly-favored Pampanga Buddies following an 88-85 win in Game 4 to close the quarterfinal series, 3-1.
Cebu, on the other hand, swept the Trace Laguna Stallions in their quarterfinal series with a Game 3 win at the Stallions’ homecourt in Los Baños, Laguna last Wednesday.
“One thing good is that we own the homecourt advantage so whatever happens in the series we can always look forward to the support of our hometown crowd,” said Alcoseba.
Cebu will host Games 1 and 2 on Sept. 2 and 3 before the series shifts to Lipa for Games 3 and 4.
Veterans
If needed Game 5 will be back at the Cebu Coliseum.
Aside from the veteran players, Cebu will also have to take a good look against Lipa/Batangas’ leading scorers, PBL veteran Al Vergara and Bon Bon Custodio who were responsible in beating the Buddies in Games 3 and 4 at the Lipa Convention Center last Wednesday and Thursday.
Vergara scored an average 11.0 points per game while Custodio normed 15.5 ppg in four games against Pampanga.
However, with Cebu’s never-say-die attitude towards the game, the Niños are expected to keep their heads afloat in the series. (RCM)
