Top seed Cebu eyes TOP semis berth vs Pacquiao’s Warriors

Top seed ML Kwarta Padala-Cebu tries to complete the semis cast in the Tournament of the Philippines (TOP) when it battles Manny Pacquiao’s MP GenSan on Wednesday at the New Cebu Coliseum in Cebu City. Aside from having the deepest bench and perhaps the most experienced players in the tournament, the Niños are also armed with a twice-to-beat advantage over the eight-seeded Warriors for barging in the Top Four after the nine-leg elimination series. A win by the Niños in their 6 p.m. showdown will enable the multi-titled squad to join Treston-Laguna, Ascof Lagundi and Misamis Oriental in the TOP’s next phase jointly organized by the Philippine Basketball League and Liga Pilipinas. The winner in the Cebu-GenSan series battles Laguna in the semis which will be a best-of-three affair. The other semis pairing will have Ascof Lagundi and Misamis Oriental. For the Warriors to advance to the next round, they have to play at the same level when they pulled off a 79-74 upset over the Niños on July 2. The defeat ended Cebu’s 30-game winning rampage a streak that started in Liga Pilipinas’ previous conference last year which the Niños’ ruled by sweeping all its 21 games. One thing going for the Niños is the addition of veteran Froilan Baguion, who is expected to boost the team’s backcourt rotation. Aside from Baguion, the team also boasts of veterans Stephen Padilla, Warren Ybanez and Bruce Dacia. – JVP, GMANews.TV