WITH its spot in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup anything but assured at this point, the Columbian Dyip seek to help their cause by notching a win today against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in league action at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
At joint seventh place with two other teams with a 4-6 record, the Dyip are out to make the most of their final game of the elimination round and book the win that they hope would be enough for them to secure a place in the next phase of the season-ending PBA tournament.
Columbian has lost back-to-back games entering today’s contest, the last one against the Meralco Bolts, 92-74, on Nov. 8.
The Dyip competed hard versus the Bolts but just sputtered in the end on their way to the defeat.
Rookie CJ Perez led the way for Columbian in said game, finishing with 21 points.
Import Khapri Alston, meanwhile, had a double-double of 19 points and 16 boards for the Dyip.
“If win against Ginebra it will be a big help for our playoff cause, But if we play like we did today against Ginebra it will be difficult for us to advance. We have to play our best and as team,” said Columbian coach John Cardel after their last game.
Looking to frustrate the Dyip are the Kings (6-3), who are already in the quarterfinals but are out to build momentum heading into the playoffs.
Barangay Ginebra are coming off a big 96-93 win over the TNT KaTropa in its last game on Nov. 8.
Japeth Aguilar had a huge game of 29 points and 10 rebounds, with import Justin Brownlee adding 24 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.
LA Tenorio had 19 points and Stanley Pringle 14 for the Kings, who are angling to stay in the top four in the race to earn the twice-to-beat advantage which goes with it in the quarterfinals.
Also playing today are also-rans Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters (2-8) and Blackwater Elite (2-8) in the 4:30 p.m. curtain-raiser. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
