Unbeaten after three starts, the Paint Masters tackle the Liquid Powers (1-2) at 1:45 p.m. while the Water Force tries to break into the win column against the Tigers (1-1) at 3:45 p.m.
Focus, however, will surely be on Welcoat and Fash, champions of the last two conferences. The Paint Masters swept the Liquid Power in three games in the 2002 Challenge Cup Finals before diminishing to near-obscurity as the latter went on to top the season-opening conference this year.
And Welcoat coach Leo Austria expects no less than a war.
"Siguradong magandang laban ito dahil magtatapat ang mga champion ng dalawang huling conferences," said Austria, whose roster boasts of talents like James Yap, Ervin Sotto and JR Reyes.
Fash, for its part, is raring to show its true form and get back into the thick of things following an unimpressive start of two losses against a win.
"Worried ako dito sa Fash dahil galing sila sa talo so I’m sure coach Junel Baculi has something new in his mind. Matagal ko ng kilala si coach Junel kaya maging close itong laban na ito," said Austria. "With our record, alam kong gusto rin nila kaming talunin, siguro gigil na gigil sila sa amin."
The Tigers notched their first win right at their home turf — at the UST Gym — thanks to Alex Compton who buried a booming triple with only 6.7 ticks left for a 62-61 win over ICTSI-La Salle last Thursday.
The only concern for Austria is when the fatigue factor would eventually catch up with his players because five of his stars, namely James Yap, Paul Artadi, Willy Wilson, Marc Pingris and Ervin Sotto, are also members of the national team.
"Kailangan i-pace mo sila, otherwise madali silang mapagod ka agad dahil nga may commitment din sila sa national team. Kung fresh lang sila, walang problema," said Austria.
Baculi is obviously not happy with their roller-coaster drive, especially in the team’s stinging 66-68 defeat to ICTSI-La Salle last Saturday at the Pasay Sports Complex. With the team’s 1-2 win-loss record, Baculi wants nothing but a victory over a team he considered a bitter rival.
For the Liquid Power to end Welcoat’s winning run, Baculi has to squeeze the best from Allan Salangsang and Peter Jun Simon and hopefully draw big numbers from Ateneo stars — Rich Alvarez, LA Tenorio, Wesley Gonzales and Larry Fonacier.
As in their previous victories, Austria will again rely on the deadly hands of Yap, the speed of Artadi and Jercules Tangkay and the height advantage of Sotto and Reyes, whose back-to-back baskets keyed the team’s 68-64 win over the fighting Water Force last Saturday.