Fresh start as quarterfinals get going

- Advertisement -

THE best thing about the playoffs is it gives teams another chance to keep their bids going.

This is not lost on Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, whose charges needed to win their final eliminations outing to avoid being relegated to No. 7 or, even worse, battle for the last spot.

Now the Painters have another daunting task—overcome the young and confident Converge FiberXers.

- Advertisement -spot_img

“Ang laki nang inilakas ng Converge. Magandang addition sa kanila si Balti. Napunta sa kanila si Heading tapos iyong import nila terno rin sa nilalaro nila,” Guiao said. “So, I think Converge could have easily made first or second also.

“Kung hindi lang din sa breaks, muntik na nilang mahabol iyong San Miguel. So, ibig sabihin kaya nilang mag-one or two (in the standings) pero nasa No. 3 sila ngayon. Parang ang kalaban namin one and two rin kaya lang at least best-of-3,” he added.

Which team gets the crucial head starts will be known when No. 3 Converge clashes with sixth-ranked Rain or Shine today as the quarterfinals of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup get going at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The game is set at 5 p.m. before fourth seed Ginebra and No. 5 Meralco begin their best-of-3 Last Eight battle in the nightcap at 7:30.

Guiao will pin his hopes on import Deon Thompson, Adrian Nocum, Anton Asistio, Andrei Caracut, Leonard Santillan, and veterans Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood.

Guiao refused to be shaken by their foes’ 103-96 victory when they first met last Jan. 14.

“Iyong last game namin against them, tinambakan nila kami. So, psychologically, I think they have an advantage over us. But we’ll try to find a way to overcome that advantage at pagdating naman ng quarterfinals, 0-0 na lahat, ibig sabihin you can throw your previous record,” he said. “Whatever you’ve achieved is outside of the window and everybody starts on an even slate.

“So, iyon nga, we just achieved our objective. Importante lang buhay pa kami ngayon.”

When all the dust settles tonight, two squads will emerge with 1-0 leads in the race-to-2 series and move closer to the big target—the Big Dance.

Author

Share post: