Expect a war between Paranaque Lady Aces and Taguig City Lady Generals when the two squads lock horns in the best-of-three Pia Cayetano Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) Finals which is set to fire off Saturday, Dec 4 at the Bren Z Guiao Convention Center in Pampanga.
Featuring Gilas Pilipinas standouts Clare Castro and Allana Lim, the Lady Aces are touted as the heavy favorites in the championship series especially after an unbeaten run of 10 games throughout the season. The second seed Lady Generals, on the other hand, are no pushovers with former UAAP MVP Marichu Bacaro leading the charge.
Nonetheless, the two squads are anticipating a tough series for the first WNBL title since the league turned pro this year.
“’Yung preparation namin talaga wala nang sinasayang na araw kasi syempre championship na ‘yung pinaghahandaan namin so talagang puspusan na 'yung training namin,” said Castro during the PSA Forum on Tuesday.
“Syempre makuha 'yung championship (ang goal namin) and mag-create ng history sa first ever pro league ng women’s,” she added.
The Lady Aces hope to live up to the bill as the powerhouse squad in the tournament as they even swept Quezon in the semifinals. Paranaque also beat Taguig City twice in the eliminations with an average margin of 17.5 points.
“Sobrang laking pressure din sa amin kasi siyempre undefeated kami parang kami na nag-set ng bar. Parang nasa amin ‘yung pressure na dapat lagpasan lang namin 'yun,” said Paranaque guard Vanessa Jane Santos.
Meanwhile, the Lady Generals are embracing the underdog tag in the matchup seen as a ‘David vs Goliath’ clash.
“Ito yung Paranaque vs Taguig, macocompare po siya kay David and goliath, talagang powerhouse sila so we need to double our effort para magkaroon po ng magandang laban. Pinaghahandaan po namin araw araw nag work hard po kami sa practices,” said Bacaro whose team is banking on its defense as it tries to topple the mighty Paranaque.
“I think our advantage sa Paranaque is our defense kasi wala kaming individual na kumbaga star talaga so mostly kami we play as a team and yung sistema nila coach, yun tlaga yung sinusunod namin. Double effort lang kami especially in defense,” echoed Carla Manuel.
WNBL 3x3 games are set before Game 1 on Dec 4 while the season awards will also happen before the Game 2 on Dec 5. Should the series go the distance, Game 3 is set on Dec 11.