Iloilo vows to protect home court against powerhouse Davao Occ.

By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After a disappointing outing in their first home game against the Pasay Voyagers, the Iloilo United Royals are all-in this time and eager to protect their home court.

The Royals will be back on their home court once again on October 19, 2019 and will be tested by last year’s runner up, the Davao Occidental Tigers.

This time the Iloilo United Royals will play in the Passi City Arena in the hopes of bringing the MPBL action to as many Ilonggos as they can.

Sensing urgency and in dire need to win their second home game, the United Royals have been grinding it out since their convincing win against the Pampanga Lanterns last October 3.

This Davao team, however, won’t go down easy. As last season’s runner-ups, this team is even hungrier and is seeking vengeance to their heartbreaking loss last time.

Front-lining the Davao team is ex-PBA Bonbon Custodio. Known as a steady scorer in his stint with the PBA, Custodio will definitely prove a handful for the Royals.

Joining Custodio are ex-PBA role players in Mark Yee and James Forrester.

Yee, a physical forward who played his peak years with the Burger King franchise and TNT Katropa, was known to be a pesky defender who handled the opposing team’s scoring threats.

Wrapping up the Davao snipers is Forrester, who was picked fourth overall by the Ginebra San Miguel but did not find his stride in the PBA.

Expect coach Eric Gonzales to shuffle his lineup in the hopes of matching up with Davao’s firepower.