Mixers see big D-League finish

MANILA, Philippines - Keramix hopes to ride on its inspiring victory over MP Hotel last week as it eyes at least a quarterfinal stint in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup after a dismal outing in the Aspirants Cup.

Keramix, the former Racal Motor which underwent major personnel shakeup following a 3-8 (win-loss) finish in the last conference, came away with an easy 87-60 rout of MP Hotel in the kickoff last Thursday to join AMA University in the early lead.

“I thought we worked the ball well and we defended excellently and that’s why we got a big lead early,” said Keramix coach Caloy Garcia, who beefed up his squad headed by holdovers Ford Ruaya and Jeff Viernes by tapping former St. Benilde Blazers Robert Bartolo and Luis Sinco along with Arellano ace playmaker Jiovanni Jalalon.

Jalalon is also part of the 16-man Sinag Pilipinas national training pool for the Southeast Asian Games and SEABA, both set in Singapore.

Keramix is a product of Techfil Corp., which was established in Dec. 2005 as a manufacturing company by a team of experienced professionals to cater the growing demands of dry mix mortars in the market. 

Techfil started operations in Feb. 2006 with only one mixer and a handful of trained personnel to run the whole plant. Now, the company has expanded in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, making the products more affordable and available without sacrificing the quality.

One win does not make a champion squad, but with its big victory over MP Hotel, the management of Racal Group of Companies, headed by president Jojo Racal, team manager Nick Caparida, and marketing head Christopher Retardo, are upbeat of the team’s chances in the second conference.             

Meanwhile, Cebuana Lhuillier and Café France clash today while Jumbo Plastic and Tanduay Light mix it up in the second elims playdate of the Foundation Cup at the JCSGO gym in Cubao, Quezon City.

The Gems, who lost to the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns in rubber match of their semis series in the Aspirants Cup, hope to come up with a strong start on a team backstopped by new recruits Jackson Corpuz, Roider Cabrera and veteran Mark Acosta.