The last-placed team after the elimination stage will be booted out while the sixth- to ninth-placers will figure in the knockout wild-card stage of the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
“We still have four games left. The boys all know we still have a chance and they remain optimistic. It’s just a matter of how we can translate that attitude into our games,” said Isaac.
The Energy Boosters have a league-worst 2-12 win-loss mark with four games left on their schedule, one more than Coca-Cola, which is at ninth with a 3-12 card. Rain or Shine has a 4-10 record, while Burger King holds a 5-10 card.
However, the Energy Boosters have a tougher task ahead—they are scheduled to play three teams in the upper half of the standings.
They face San Miguel Beer (12-3) on Friday, the defending champion Talk ’N Text (10-5) on Sunday and Sta. Lucia Realty (7-6) on January 17. They end their elimination campaign against the Tigers on January 20.
“We just want to put all our struggles behind us and start strong this year,” said Isaac, whose team dropped its last 10 games in the tournament after starting the conference with a decent 2-2 slate.
“Ang team kasing ito, kumpara sa iba, hindi primera klase. Pero laban lang ng laban at walang pinipiling kalaban, kahit sino,” said Isaac, who last won against Rain or Shine, 89-81, last October 28.
“Iyun ang isa pang maganda, nasa kamay pa rin namin ang kapalaran namin. Kailangan talagang manalo ng ilan pang mga laro para makatabla man lang sa Coke. At ganun kami, laging positive. Malay natin, isang araw ngumiti ang tadhana,” he added.
Games January 6 (Araneta Coliseum)
2:30PM — Smart-Gilas vs Purefoods
5:00PM — Sta. Lucia vs Rain or Shine
7:30PM — Talk ’N Text vs Ginebra
Source: Joel Orellana | BusinessMirror.com.ph
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