FLAG COMES FIRST
The chase for quarterfinal berths and the twice-to-beat privileges in the PBA Philippine Cup resumes on Friday after a three-week break due to the Fiba window.
Brothers Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño face off for the first time in the big league as Converge takes on Magnolia at 5:15 p.m. at Ynares Center in Antipolo City before San Miguel Beer and TNT square off at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of last season’s title series.
More crucial games are on tap this weekend, especially for one team in the hunt set to lose its top player tasked with a higher calling.
All four teams seeing action hold identical 5-2 slates, with the winners to create a four-way tie for the lead with Rain or Shine and NLEx, which allowed Robert Bolick to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand.
Bolick and the Road Warriors play Magnolia on Sunday at Ynares Center, Montalban in Rodriguez, Rizal, before he skips the last two outings against TNT on Dec. 13 and Converge on Dec. 17 as he represents flag and country in the biennial meet.
“It’s very crucial since the team standings are so close,” NLEx team governor Ronald Dulatre said of Bolick’s situation. “But if it’s for the national team, for the country, we need to fully support and prioritize and Berto (Bolick) really wants to play also for the flag.
“We just need to focus on our Sunday game with Magnolia so we can give Berto a good send-off before he flies to Thailand with Gilas,” he added.
Three other PBA stars are also off to Thailand for the Games, even though their teams are desperate to catch up in the playoff race.
Blackwater, tied with Terrafirma at the bottom at 1-6, will miss rookie guard Dalph Panopio and veteran forward Abu Tratter, while Titan Ultra, holding a 2-6 card, allowed shooter Von Pessumal to take part as well.
They are joined by free agents Matthew Wright, Thirdy Ravena, Justin Chua and Jamie Malonzo in the roster, which the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) confirmed on Thursday after its fourth revision due to confusion over the eligibility ruling in the past few months.
Also in the squad are Ray Parks Jr., who was allowed to take a break from his stint with Japanese club Osaka Evessa of the B.League, University of the Philippines redshirt Veejay Pre, Adamson’s Cedrick Manzano and College of St. Benilde’s Allen Liwag.
“After a tedious back and forth due to initially unclear and constantly changing rules in player eligibility, we at the SBP have submitted this list to the local organizing committee and it has been vetted and has undergone pre-approvals,” the SBP said.
Powerhouse initial list
The SBP initially listed the likes of Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame to the standard 5-on-5 event that will be handled by coach Norman Black, but Thailand ruled with finality last week that naturalized players and those who failed to secure a passport after the age of 16 are deemed ineligible for the Games.
La Salle’s Mike Phillips, listed in one of the revised versions of the roster, is also out because of the eligibility ruling, while Geo Chiu was also scratched due to Abra’s entry in the National Finals of the MPBL.
Meanwhile, the Converge-Magnolia tussle will see the first PBA clash between brothers Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño in an additional subplot to the contest even as San Miguel and TNT meet for the first time since last season’s Finals.
June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz resume club duties as teammates after Gilas Pilipinas and Guam met twice in the first window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Saturday’s matches, also in Antipolo, are Terrafirma-Titan and Blackwater-Phoenix, while Sunday’s nightcap in Rodriguez pits Converge and Rain or Shine.
