By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Iloilo United Royals are gearing up for their last game of the season against the powerhouse Bacoor City Strikers.
Currently seeded at number two in the same division as Iloilo, Bacoor will try to halt Iloilo’s winning ways as they are currently on a two-game winning streak.
With the regular season coming to a close, Iloilo was a revelation, surprising the league by proving themselves as the best expansion team in the MPBL and even upsetting powerhouse teams such as the Manila Stars.
Tagged as “The Dark Horse” team in the league, MPBL analyst Christian Luanzon best described the United Royals as one of the most versatile teams in the league and can fairly matchup with everybody.
It will be interesting to see how Iloilo’s Richard Escoto will square up against Bacoor’s star forward, Gab Banal.
Both forwards have been producing consistently for their squads and both would like to start their scoring bursts early on. It will be a matchup that fans would surely keep an eye on and would most likely play a big role in the result of the game.
The five spot also offers an interesting matchup between Rey Publico and Matthew Aquino. Both big men are known to be relentless on the boards and serve as their respective team’s anchor on defense.
With the playoffs just around the corner, Iloilo’s recent surge couldn’t have come at a better time.
