Road Warriors, Gems eye lead

THE three-time defending champions NLEX Road Warriors and the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems, aim for a piece of the lead when they battle different opponents today in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the Trinity University of Asia gym.

The Road Warriors are currently on an astounding 18-game winning streak dating back to the last conference and they want to keep that run going today against a struggling Boracay Rum Waves squad in the game set at 2 p.m.

While most of the teams improved their rosters during the off season, Boracay Rum made no significant recruitment, in the process losing its first two games in the conference against Cagayan Valley and Cebuana Lhuillier.

The Road Warriors though, will be playing without Cebuano big man, Greg Slaughter, who has yet to be cleared by the league to play because of certain immigration papers issues in spite of his getting a certificate of dual citizenship the other day.

“Still not sure when I’m going to be able to play. They said me having a certificate of dual citizenship isn’t good enough even though that basically means I’m a local by law,” said the former University of the Visayas center in a text message to this writer.

Cebuana Lhuillier is also anticipating a tough match-up against Frutas, a team eager to redeem itself after its victorious debut against Café France was forfeited by the PBA Commissioner’s Office because the Shakers fielded an ineligible player. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio