Che’Lu Bar, Go for Gold out to seal title clash

MANILA, Philippines — Top seed Che’Lu Bar and Grill and No. 2 Go for Gold try to seal an expected showdown for the PBA D-League Foundation Cup crown as they go for the clincher in their respective semifinal duels at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig today.

The Revellers seek to finish off the CEU Scorpions in Game Two of their best-of-three series at 6 p.m. for another title crack after falling short last conference.

But Che’Lu Bar and Grill coach Stevenson Tiu believes that hurdling an energetic collegiate squad like No. 4 Scorpions won’t be easy, particularly for his veteran-laden crew that constantly struggles with complacency.

Go for Gold also hopes to duplicate its 96-87 victory over Marinerong Pilipino-TIP the first time out as it  guns for a sweep of their side of the semis playoff at 4 p.m.

The Scratchers bucked the ouster of coach Charles Tiu due to technicals in the last 7:02 of the match and reasserted their mastery over the Engineers, whom they have beaten three times.

The top-seeded Revellers nearly blew a 20-point third quarter bulge in the series’ opener last Tuesday but Chris Bitoon and veteran Jeff Viernes delivered down the stretch to help anchor their 112-97 romp.

“That’s the problem with veteran players, they tend to be complacent then only step up when needed. We always start strong, we relax then we go after it at endgame,” said Tiu.