`It will be a tough battle', says Cebuana Lhuillier coach

Cebuana Lhuillier coach Luigi Trillo is convinced it will be a tough battle.

The Gems are up against Freego Jeans in a knockout quarterfinal
match-up that features two teams who love to play physical.

Cebuana Lhuillier swept its classification round assignment to emerge
the top seed in Group B. But Trillo claimed he ranked Freego Jeans
“right up their in the bracket.”

“They just got off to a bad start. But they won three of their last
four games,” Trillo noted.

The game is set at 4 p.m. at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The winner will advance to the semi-finals against the winner of the
quarterfinal match-up between Max! Bond Super Glue and Blackwater.

Trillo said defense will be for the Gems because the Falcons are very
disciplined.

He said the Gems must find a way to control [Jerick] Canada and
[Lester] Alvarez, Freego Jeans’ backcourt tandem who could be
dangerous once their 3-point shots find its mark. “[Alex] Nuyles and
[Roider] Cabrera can light it up also,” Trillo said.

“Freego has such composure. But if we can perform against Freego’s
change up defense and defend well against their motion offense, I
think we’ll have a chance,” Trillo said.

The other quarterfinals encounter between PC Gilmore and Pharex is
also expected to go down the wire.

The 2 o’clock match duel is a rematch between the two teams. The
Wizards beat the Bidang Generix, 99-97, in the closing seconds of
their first showdown in the classification round.

“It’s going to be tough playing them coming off a win. I hope we come
out aggressive and show no rustiness because of our long layoff
between games,” said PC Gilmore coach Richard del Rosario.

The Wizards have not had a game in nearly a month since closing their
classification round assignment against Blackwater.

In contrast, Pharex advanced to the round of eight by dispatching
pre-tournament favourite Cobra Energy Drink in the first round of the
playoffs on Tuesday.

So the Wizards enjoy the momentum and their confidence are obviously high.

“Having just one day to prepare, I think that’s the challenge,” said
Pharex coach Gian Carlo Tan when asked about his concerns against PC
Gilmore.

Tan promised to provide a tough challenge in their rematch.

“When we played the first time, we were not intense. We’re kind of
lackadaisical. That won’t be the case on Thursday,” Tan said. PR