CEBU CITY, Philippines— Jesus “Boyet” Velez, the head coach of Abante Minglanilla, admitted that their sixth man, their home crowd, would be a massive factor for the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Rhea Gullas Cup First District of Cebu Inter-City/Municipality Basketball Tournament Best-of-Three finals on Saturday, March 23, at the Minglanilla Sports Complex.
Talisay Aksyon Agad evened the series, 1-1, last March 16 at their homecourt in Talisay City Sports Complex in a thrilling 80-78 finale.
This time, Minglanilla eyes winning the title on Saturday, but not without their locals, who are known for their passion for basketball.
Thus, Velez, who is a lawyer and also the deputy commissioner of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (Cesafi), reminded Minglanilla’s locals to watch this crucial game.
“Dako ug factor para sa mga players kung naa atong mga fans. Ako sila gi ask kung maka boost sa ilahang confidence, makahatag gyud daw ug energy level kung naa atong mga fans. Mao na gitawag ug sixth man gyud ang crowd,” said Velez.
“No need na panawagan kay after sa Game 2 kay ni ana na ang mga taw anhi sa Minglanilla magdaog, pero ato sila iinvite ug i remind nga kung kinsa available to watch Game 3, hinaot mo adto sila ug mo suporta sa atong team.”
In Game 1 of the best-of-three finals, Minglanilla beat Talisay, 72-67, at their homecourt, which drew an estimated 10,000 basketball fans, the majority of whom were rooting for the home team.
According to Velez, Talisay was the hungrier team to even the series in Game 2, while his players lacked the energy to match the home team, which became the factor in their defeat.
In addition, Velez also noted that his team needs to become more familiar with the smaller court in Talisay, which also uses a goal or rim different from theirs in Minglanilla.
“Kuwang ug energy, they are hungrier than us unya, factor ang crowd, ang court, ang ring. So, lahi-lahi baya ni atong courts, mao na factor na siya although nakaduwa ug naka practice na didto before in terms of familiarity,” said Velez.
“We expect the same intensity sa Talisay, tight defense sa amo-a, coach Bucao is a veteran coach, kahibaw siya mo dala sa iyahang mga players, but then again, daugon na lang gyud ni sa court with all the executions of our players, defense and offense.”
Aside from the homecourt advantage, Velez noted that his players have a confident mindset heading into Saturday’s game.
“Ang mind set sa mga bata, all in na lang gyud, no more tomorrow, mao na ipagawas na gyud tanan. As to pressure, wala ra man sila naka feel ug pressure, confident ra man sad, ari duwaon sa Minglanilla,” said Velez.
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