It’s down to a single game and either Batangas City or Zamboanga will move on to the championship round of the southern division of the MPBL Datu Cup.
Expect both teams to slug it out right from the opening tipoff until the final buzzer of their 7 p.m. encounter at the Batangas City Sports Arena.
The winner will earn the right to face the Davao Occidental Tigers, who swept the Bacoor Strikers in the semifinal round of this tournament put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend and former MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.
For the Tanduay-backed Athletics, securing a win at home will put them in a better position for an ambitious back-to-back titles. Expect their local folks to come in full force, especially after the team nearly lost its right to host Game 3.
Batangas City management had to fight for its rights of reclaiming the home court advantage when a last-minute change in schedule was made by operations head Zaldy Realubit.
But the Athletics got the home court advantage nonetheless on the intercession of Commissioner Duremdes and the approval of Senator Manny Pacquiao. The home fans will play a big role in their game against the Family’s Brand Sardines-supported squad, which had given the inaugural staging champion a difficult time in the first two games of the best-of-three series.
“The home court advantage is sacred to us,” said team manager Gerry Tee. “It’s so important. At one time, our venue was not available due to a pageant contest, so we looked for an alternative home court here in Batangas to make sure that we will have the support of our local folks.”
Head coach Mac Tan said the home court advantage will become the driving force for his banged-up players who are playing hurt, but are willing to take the sacrifice just to give the team the extra push.
For Zamboanga, it’s a good time for the squad to seize the moment.
After a roller-coaster ride in the early goings of the tournament, the team made a good impression after stunning last season’s runner-up Muntinlupa and pushed the Rajah Cup champions Athletics to the limit in the ongoing semifinals series.
But Zamboanga will need more than just productive games from top guns Reed Juntilla and Robin Roño and the hardworking Harold Arboleda to get the job done. They will need a more consistent game from Joseph Nalos, veteran Ryan Buenafe and big man Allan Santos as well as Ivan Villanueva, who had his string of good games, but was hardly a factor last time around.