Wizards seek repeat vs Energy Warriors

Magnolia Purewater goes for a repeat over Bacchus while Toyota Otis tries to stretch its winning run to three today at the close of the first round in the 2009 PBL PG Flex Linoleum Cup at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym in Manila.

The Wizards battle the Energy Warriors at 4 p.m. with coach Koy Banal determined to put a fitting sequel to their 83-72 win over the same squad two days ago.

Clashing in the first game at 2 p.m. are Toyota Otis and Burger King with both teams out to close out the round on a high note. They both carry similar 2-3 cards.

Bacchus coach Lawrence Chongson admitted yesterday that beating Magnolia of San Miguel Corporation is quite a tall order for his boys considering its height advantage and depth. But he vowed to pull all the stops in order to get back at the Wizards.

Hopefully, they will come in full force today after missing the services of power-forward Parri Llagas last Tuesday.

Patrick Cabahug, taken via a trade with Toyota Otis, and Paul Lee are again expected to lead the assault of the Energy Warriors in the hope of improving their 2-4 win-loss record.

Dylan Ababou, touted as the next superstar of University of Santo Tomas, will be a marked man again following his 21-point effort – the third time he scored 20 points or more in the season-opening tournament.

Aside from the 6-foot-3 Ababou, Chongson’s other concern is how to stop Cebuano hotshot Neil Raneses who has been consistently scoring in double figures for the team.

Bacchus also has to limit the production of Al Magpayo, Chester Taylor and JP Alcaraz to have a better chance.

The BK-Toyota Otis encounter is expected to be hot and bruising since the Stunners are composed of the core of NCAA champion San Beda while the Sparks are built around NCAA runner-up Jose Rizal University and Letran.

Ogie Menor and company will clash again with JRU’s James Sena, Marvin Hayes, John Wilson and Letran’s RJ Jazul.

Aside from its San Beda boys, BK coach Allan Gregorio can also count on Jason Ballesteros, Marcy Arellano and Mark Baracael while La Salle’s JV Casio and James Mangahas will provide the Toyota Otis additional firepower.

“We’re now having a good run, so we hope to sustain it. It’s really hard to play catch-up with the frontrunners, so we have to play very hard,” said Toyota Otis coach Ariel Vanguardia.