In any playoff or championship encounters, closing out the series is the most difficult thing to do, which explains why coaches Don Dulay of Nueva Ecija and Eric Gonzales of Quezon don’t feel comfortable.
“I expect them to come out and fight,” said Dulay, referring to San Juan, which was beaten soundly in the series opener, 86-95.
“It’s hard to close out, especially San Juan. They’re well-coached. I expect a good fight and I’m hoping we finish them.”
Gonzales shared Dulay’s observation and even though the Titans won convincingly over Biñan, 85-61, a big fight back by the Tatak Gel could change everything.
“We’ll play hard, we play the right way,” added Gonzales.
The Titans and the Capitals will try to wrap things up with a victory on Thursday at the Filoil-EcoOil, but they’re facing teams that are battling for survival, making this doubleheader more of a struggle.
For Nueva Ecija, is now or never.
“I don’t want a long series against San Juan,” added Dulay, who had his share of great battles against the team owned by Senator Jinggoy Estrada in different tournaments in the past.
This latest encounter adds flavor to that already spiced up rivalry between both squads and veteran swingman Byron Villarias of Nueva Ecija is feeling upbeat of his team’s chances ahead of Game 2 where the Capitals hope to finish off the Kings in their 8 p.m. tiff.
“May chance kami kasi nakuha namin yung Game 1. Ganung kaimportante manalo sa Game 1 dahil nga best-of-three lang, so mas tataas pa yung kumpiyansa namin,” added Villarias.
Confidence is one thing Nueva Ecija didn’t lack as proven in the previous game where it led from start to finish.
The same goes for Quezon, which hasn’t lost a game since the start of the playoffs and ready to complete its upset win in the series against the team that finished No.1 in the elimination round.
