NLEX coach Frankie Lim knows exactly what his team plans on doing in the short lull it had before the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
"Rest, recuperate, review," was Lim's initial terse reply after his Road Warriors qualified as the sixth-ranked squad last Sunday, setting them up for a best-of-three duel with the third-seeded Meralco Bolts starting Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
"Malaking bagay sa amin itong apat na araw na pahinga, kahit gaano kaigsi, so we plan on making full use of it," added Lim.
Both teams deserve to be where they are.
Meralco could have been relegated to the one-game playoff for the eighth and last quarterfinals berth but made it outright by beating erstwhile undefeated and sure top seed San Miguel Beer, 95-92, last Saturday.
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Making that win more impressive is the fact it was fashioned despite the absence of the injured Aaron Black.
That Bolts win also put NLEX in danger of to dropping into a knockout match, but gamely took care of its end by holding off Barangay Ginebra, 76-72, last Sunday and in the process secured the No. 6 spot while snapping out of a four-game slide.
"After four consecutive losses, it's nice to get a win again. Lalo na sa Ginebra pa," quipped Lim, before admitting the task remains cut out for his team despite a 99-96 win over Meralco in the elimination round last March 6.
"Marami kaming pag-iisipan tungkol sa Meralco, especially after their win over San Miguel," noted Lim.
"Parang nag-iiba laro nila, pati 'yung kanilang bigs, (Raymond) Almazan, (Brandon) Bates. Dating nakalaban namin sila wala si Bates. So right now marami silang bigs na dapat tingnan," added Lim.
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Prized guard Robert Bolick, who scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter in the Meralco match and again led NLEX against Ginebra with 25 points, six rebounds and eight assists, knows they are in for a tough duel.
"Sila yata ang tumalo sa lahat ng malalakas, Magnolia, Ginebra, San Miguel. So this team is very good. Defensive team, ika nga," noted Bolick.
"Magandang match-up iyon, excited kami. Tingnan natin," added Bolick. "For sure magandang gameplan gagawin ng mga coaches namin para i-prepare kami sa game sa Friday."
"We'll make our plans," promised Lim.(NC)
