Rain or Shine Elasto Painters shoot for solo tournament leadership
CURRENTLY in joint leadership in the standings in the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters look to break away from the logjam and take solo first place when they collide with the Blackwater Elite in the curtain-raiser at 4:30 p.m. today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Holding a 6- 1 record, tied with the TNT KaTropa, the Elasto Painters shoot for their fourth straight win to book their seventh win and fortify their hold of a top- two finish in the elimination round of the midseason PBA tournament and earn the twice- to- beat advantage that goes with it in the quarterfinals.
Rain or Shine enters the contest fresh from a 99-96 overtime victory over the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok on June 2.
The Elasto Painters had to collectively dig deep to survive the Hotshots, getting solid contributions from their key stalwarts down the stretch.
Had a break at the end of regulation, Rain or Shine did not waste much time in extra period to gain some headway, thanks to triples from Gabe Norwood and Beau Belga, and never looked back after for the win.
Import Reggie Johnson paced Rain or Shine with 23 points and 19 rebounds followed by Raymond Almazan who had 19 points and nine boards.
Mr. Norwood and Chris Tiu also finished in double digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
While they are happy where they are at right now, Mr. Johnson said they cannot afford to just be satisfied with it if they are to achieve their goal of winning the championship.
“We got our work cut out for us, work is still to be done but we’re definitely angling for the top two. Our goal is to win the championship, I’m not afraid to say it,” said Mr. Johnson following their victory.
TWO IN A ROW
Standing in the way of Rain or Shine is Blackwater, which finally broke through the win column with an 86- 84 victory also over Magnolia on Wednesday.
The Elite showed grit and determination to stay in the game despite moves by the Hotshots to pull away and were rewarded accordingly with the win.
Import Henry Walker provided the game-winning play when he dunked over the Magnolia defense with three seconds remaining in the game.
Big man JP Erram led the way for Blackwater with 19 points and 15 rebounds with Mr. Walker and guard Mike DiGregorio adding 11 points each.
“The team is slowly but surely improving each game. I just told the players that the work continues for us even if we are already eliminated and good thing they are responding accordingly. It’s a process for us,” said Blackwater coach Bong Ramos in the postgame press conference.
Meanwhile, playing in the 7 p.m. main game are the Meralco Bolts (4-2) against the Phoenix Fuel Masters ( 3- 3). —