When Esmond meets Leones ...

IF you are a basketball fan then you really don't want to miss tonight's semi-final matches of the 2009 Brunei Pepsi Cup to be held at the Brunei Basketball Association court in Batu Bersurat.

The appetiser to be served at 7pm features the mouthwatering match between unbeaten and favourites, Linktech, and Yuan Tong Enterprise (YTE), who are riding off a loss to Babes Boutique on Thursday.

The main course, which starts at 8.30pm, offers a super delicious game a match-up between another unbeaten team, Babes Boutique, and Chop Eng Seng Keo (CESK) Pinoy Resources.

In their first encounter on the opening night of the competition, Linktech beat YTE 77-76 after Apollo Bibat coolly sunk the game winning free throws.

Linktech are represented by players that lined up for Queenielin/Softlab, the champions of the 111th Philippine Independence Basketball Cup which was held early last month.

YTE, meanwhile, are made up of the national players that won the 2009 Belait Sultan's Cup.

Linktech will once again be banking on Geve Leones to deliver the goods tonight. He was last year's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the final of Aewon's Sultan Cup where Ilonggo Slashers defeated Tumasek, the 2008 national team, 97-86 to lift the trophy. He was also chosen the MVP for the 111th Philippine Independence Basketball Cup.

Leones is an agile player and draws more than one defender each time he catches the ball. However, it was his teammates Aries Castro and Elvin Requintin who lifted the team to victory scoring 22 points and 19 points respectively in the first game. Requintin is known for his sharp three-point shooting and shot blocking ability.

Every team need someone like Bibat, who has a never-say-die attitude on the court. And having Castro on your side is vital too for he can produce the goods with his sharp shooting from the baseline.

YTE will once again be led by their all-rounder, national team superstar Esmond Tan and scorer Benjamin Lim, who has a very competitive spirit.

Esmond will be hard to handle as he can both score from the inside and outside and assist his teammates.

Lim is a player to go to for some quick points.

The other main player for YTE will be national team regular Yap Chun Ping.

YTE are definitely looking to avenge their opening night's loss to Linktech in their second meeting today. "It is good that we get to meet them again as now we know their style of play," said Tony Tan, the head coach of YTE.

Tony rested his starters in their quarter-final loss to Babes Boutique and gave the subs a chance to play.

"All the players need the experience to get involved and it's important that they listen to instructions in the game," added Tony.

In the other match, Babes Boutique, who are made up of players from the ABMS team that competed in the 2008 Aewon's Sultan Cup, are a young and fresh side. They have shown their ability to overturn games and get points quickly. Their latest additions Don Dadis Mordeno, Majomar Aying, Mak Del Mundo and Hosend Mangoroban have made the team a very dangerous offensive side. They have had at least four players in double figures in all their victories in the tournament.

Their team regular, Roldan Binas, is still in the line up and he has shown his scoring ability by pouring in 25 points in their victory over YTE on Thursday night.

Kaka Espartero, the head coach of Babes Boutique, said they were focused on tonight's semi-final.

"We just have to play our game and try our best to win the game. But it is obvious that our opponents have the size advantage," said Espartero about their match-up against CESK Pinoy Resources.

CESK, three-time winners of the Sultan's Cup, will be looking to their veteran players Wawie Ebanez, Noel Grafil and Jeff Paraiso to lift them tonight.

Efren Espiritu, at 6ft 5in, will be at the heart of the CESK defence but stamina and rebounds will be key in the all-Filipino encounter.

CESK hold the size advantage over their opponents but they lack in speed compared to their younger rivals.

Their lack of a point guard saw them stagger in their previous matches.

The Brunei Times