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FRANCIS Allera, out to follow the footsteps of long-time idols James
Yap and Kenneth Duremdes, hopes to reinforce his new-found status
today as streaking Pharex goes for a fourth straight win against
Burger King in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the Rizal
Memorial Coliseum.
The lanky but sweet-shooting forward from
General Santos City created a big stir last week when he helped
Pharex to two impressive wins, including one against last
conference’s runner-up Hapee Toothpaste.
With his solid all-around performance in the
team’s last two games, the star from University of Santo Tomas is
expected to be a marked man when they collide with Burger King at 2
p.m.
The Medics, who triumphed only twice in 10 games
last conference, are currently at No. 2 in the standings with a 5-1
card, while Burger is tied with Hapee Toothpaste at 4-2. Harbour
Centre remains the only unbeaten team with a 5-0 card.
Clashing at 4 p.m. are Noosa Shoes and Bacchus
Energy Drink with both teams determined to get back into the winning
track. The Shoe Stars are out to arrest a two-game skid.
They have a 2-3 record, the same slate of San
Mig Coffee. The Bacchus Raiders tote a 2-4 card.
Against Hapee, the 6-foot-4 Allera produced a
career-best 18 points, which he highlighted by shooting 3-of-5 from
the three-point zone. He also had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and the same
number of steals to emerge as the most dominant player of the game.
In a fitting sequel to his breakout performance,
the soft-spoken Allera knocked in 17 points on a deadly 5-of-6 from
beyond the arc to power the Medics to 90-75 win over Noosa Shoes lat
Saturday. That enabled him to share the Player of the Week honors
with the league certified superstar Jason Castro of Harbour Centre.
Besides Allera, Tan is also counting on the
leadership of Ronnie Bughao and Don Villamin, the dominance of
Ronnie Matias and Jam Alfad in the shaded lane and the shooting of
veteran Emer Oreta, Sean Co and Ian Saladaga.
Though the Medics are on a roll, they can’t
take the Burger Whoppers lightly. Burger is also coming off a big
win over Bacchus.With their decisive advantage in height, the
Bacchus Raiders are slightly favored over the Shoe Stars.
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