Liga goes to Apayao

OVERALL STANDINGS – (W-L) – Tour Points

M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Ninos (16-0) – 60 points

Quezon Red Oilers (9-7) – 35

Misamis Oriental Meteors (10-6) – 33

Forward Taguig (10-6) – 32

Trace-Laguna Stallions (7-5) – 23

Smart Pampanga Buddies (6-6) – 21

Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue (7-5) – 13

MP Warriors of GenSan (3-13) – 8

Zamboanga Uno Latinos (1-15) – 6

EKB-Apayao Rapids (2-6) – 5

Toyota-Bacolod Turbos (1-3) – 3



LUNA, APAYAO – Big-time basketball comes to the Province of Apayao for the very first time with the opening of the Smart Liga Pilipinas Conference III Apayao Leg yesterday at the Bienvenido Verzola Jr. Memorial Sports Center.



Host team EKB-Apayao Rapids of Gov. Elias K. Bulut Sr. has left no stone unturned to ensure a successful hosting of the weeklong tilt made possible by Smart, Accel, Molten, Calcium-Cee, Gatorade, Air 21 and Burlington and with the sanction of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).



First up for the Rapids are the Smart-Pampanga Buddies in the main game at 6:00 PM. The opener at 4:00 PM pits the Smart-Pampanga Buddies versus the Trace-Laguna Stallions. The four teams play a single round with the two best teams colliding for the leg championship this Saturday.



Being the tenth and final leg of the conference’s tour phase, the games hold great significance for the Stallions, Buddies and Landmaster as they are bunched from Fifth to Seventh Place with 23, 21 and 13 tour points respectively.



The Stallions and Buddies are shooting for nothing less than the leg championship in order to claim the second outright spot in the five-team Super Leg later this month that will determine the next National Champion. For the expansion Landmaster quintet, winning the championship will push them up the standings and may reward them with a twice-to-beat advantage in the Super Leg qualifiers.



The undefeated M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Ninos formalized their claim on the top spot by ruling the Zamboanga City Leg last weekend, finishing with the maximum 60 points. Trailing the Ninos in the standings are the Quezon Red Oilers (35), defending National Champion Misamis Oriental Meteors (33) and Forward Taguig (32). The MP Warriors of GenSan are fixed at Eighth Place with eight points.



Expected to play important roles for the Rapids are shooters Ismael Junio and Leimar Navarro and big men Nat Cruz and Lawrence Bonus. The Rapids are on a roll after registering the franchise’s first Liga victories, both at the expense of the eliminated Zamboanga Uno Latinos, 100-77 and 105-84, en route to taking Third Place in the Zamboanga City Leg.



On the part of the Buddies of Coach Allan Gregorio, they will be bannered by veteran guard Nino Gelig, centers Ford Arao and Al Magpayo and shooter Alan Husted, a recent find from San Diego, California.



Selected games from the Apayao Leg will be aired next week on Solar Sports from Wednesday to Saturday. Liga Pilipinas Classics are seen daily over Viva Prime Channel. For more information, visit www.ligapilipinas.net.