"It"s a long flight home and I still want to stay here. But I’m not going home yet because we"ll go all the way to the championship," said Cooke moments after Purefoods gained a playoff crack versus Alaska Milk on the Ginebra Kings win over the Aces Wednesday night.
Whether Cooke and the Hotdogs will, indeed, stay in the running for the Samsung PBA Reinforced Conference crown will be known tonight as Purefoods and Alaska clash in a knockout setto at 7 p.m. at the Astrodome.
The winner advances to the quarterfinals versus Sta. Lucia Realty while the loser will pack up for the season.
The other quarterfinal pairings pit San Miguel Beer against FedEx, Red Bull Barako versus Talk n Text and Ginebra against Coca-Cola. The final eight begins Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
With Alaska hobbled by injuries to key players, Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio is optimistic Cooke’s pronouncement will prove truthful.
"We like our chances. The boys’ morale is high. With their injuries, I think we can match up well with them," said Gregorio.
Incidentally, Alaska Milk was among the three teams Purefoods has beaten in its last four games —a romp that put the Hotdogs back to life in the season-ending tourney.
The Aces have been groping for form with ace slotman Ali Peek out on a left knee injury. Brandon Cablay, EJ Feihl and Don Allado are also hurting with various injuries.
This prompted the ballclub to reactivate Jon Ordonio though the question on his citizenship has yet to be resolved.
Team owner Wilfred Steven Uytengsu had earlier ordered the freezing of the Fil-Am pointguard after he was among those found out by the Senate to be "Fil-shams."
Ordonio surprisingly appeared in uniform and played a few minutes versus Ginebra Wednesday.
Curiously, the Aces are teetering on the brink after ruling the mid-season Invitational tourney.