Cignal takes on a skidding Army side while Santa Rosa seeks to sustain its rebound from four straight losses as it shoots for a third straight victory against Air Force in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference at the Paco Arena in Manila today (Friday).
The HD Spikers, unbeaten in five starts, set out for their 5:30 p.m. clash with the Troopers the heavy favorites given their firepower and class although the latter is going flat-out to end a three-game skid and get back into the thick of things halfway through the single round elims of the 11-team tournament organized by Sports Vision.
But the Troopers must find a way to at least slow down Marck Espejo, JP Bugaoan and Ysay Marasigan, who look to dominate again with the HD Spikers hoping to build some cushion over newcomers Imus (5-1) and the equally unbeaten Iloilo (4-0) and Cotabato (3-0), whose fine starts have underscored their readiness to crowd the fancied teams not just for the semifinal berths but also for the championship.
The 3 p.m. match between the young Santa Rosa and the veteran Air Force, meanwhile, is a tossup despite the latter’s woeful 1-5 slate.
“Yung Air Force po, yun po yung mga kalaban ko nung college ako. Nagkalaban po kami sa championship ng National LVC dati na player pa ako,” said Santa Rosa coach Edu Lirio, who is expected to use his familiarity with the team’s system to extend their win run to three.
“Itong mga batang (City Lions) ‘to, tingin ko naman, with the energy they have, hindi magpapatalo ’to,” he added.
Games are telecast live on One Sports, One Sports+, Cignal Play, SMART Live Stream and at spikersturf.ph.
