The 37th PBA season will have its first double header at the Cuneta Astrodome as newly revamped Powerade Tigers will play against another new in the league (new team name) Shopinas.com Clickers in the first game. Second game will be the battle of sister teams Petron Blaze Boosters and BMEG Llamados parading its new headcoach Tim Cone.
1st Game(5:15 pm): Powerade Tigers vs. Shopinas.com Clickers
Powerade Tigers will play minus their number 1 pick overall and national team mainstay JV Casio, who suffered from Patelar Femoral Syndrome that he acquired way back from FIBA-ASIA championship. The team will be showcasing their newly revamped line-up that highlight's another Smart Gilas mainstay Marcio Lassiter, rookies James Martinez and Rudy Lingganay, Josh Vanlandingham and Doug Kramer which they acquired from Rain Or Shine in a trade, veterans Rommel Adducul and combacking Alex Crisano, to help the team's go-to-guy Gary David, Dennis Espino and the rest of the team.
Shopinas.com meanwhile will have its debut game tonight headed by veteran collegiate headcoach Franz Pumaren. Majority of the team's players are free agents from different teams, rookies and players from disbanded Barako Bull franchise. Shopinas is lead by PBA veteran shooter Ren-Ren Ritualo together with Ogie Menor, Paolo Hubalde, Khazim Mirza and Jojo Duncil forming the team's core. Also in the team are rookies Magi Sison, Marc Canlas, Brian Ilad, RJ Jazul, Elmer Espiritu, Vaughn Canta and combacking Homer Se.
2nd Game(7:30 pm): Petron Blaze Boosters vs. BMEG Llamados
While 1st game is a battle of newly constructed teams, the second game is a battle of the 2 powerhouse teams and championship contenders. Petron, the Governor's cup champions retain most of its core line-up, with addition of rookies Chris Lutz and Marc Agustin. Petron also got Don-Don Hontiveros and Carlos Sharma from a trade with Barako Bull. Marc Borboran, though has signed a contract with the team, will stay wait for the final decision from the commissioner to which team he will play. All in all, Petron will suit up only 11 players tonight - minus Borboran, Jay Washington and Rabeh Al-Husaini.
BMEG Llamados on the other hand will play under a new system - the triangle together with triangle system master Tim Cone. Tonight's game is a testament on how far the team is in terms of learning the triangle. Lead by superstars James Yap and Peter June Simon, rookie Mark Barroca, Joe Devance, veteran Roger Yap, and the return of the "sampayan brigade" of Kerby Raymundo, Rafi Reavis and Rico Maierfoher, the team is surely a finals contender.
Disclaimer: The author does not hold copyrights of the image used in this blog post. Credits of the images goes to pbaddicts.net.
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