Blackwater wants to snap RoS jinx
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters is one of the teams Blackwater Elite has not beaten yet in the PBA.
The Elite plan on snapping out of that 10game punk when they clash with the Elasto Painters who have their own plans in the Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome. Game time is at 4:15 pm.
A follow up by Rain or Shine to its 82-79 victory over TNT last week would give it a share of the lead with idle NLEX and defending champion San Miguel Beer.
To do that, the E-Painters must fine-tune some facets of their game, especially rebounding.
"We have to do better on the boards," said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia, whose team got terribly outrebounded by the KaTropa, 5473.
"We can't allow Blackwater to get second attempts," added Garcia.
Against Meralco, Blackwater displayed more than just their tenacity off the boards.
Showing more efficient ball movement on the offensive end and tenacity in defense, the Elite kept the game against its Governors Cup quarterfinals tormentor before dropping a close one, 98-103, also last Friday but only through Nino Canaleta's stretch heroics.
Blackwater intends to bring the same game plan against a team it has a 0-10 record against.
"It's going to be a good game to watch," said Elite coach Leo Isaac. "Our defense has to hold its own against the firepower of Rain or Shine to have a good chance of winning over them."
Meanwhile, the TNT KaTropa and Alaska Aces seek for their first victory of the conference.
The KaTropa and the Aces mix it up at 7 p.m. with both looking to bounce back from a losing debut in PBA Season 43.
The Texters dropped a 79-82 loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters a week ago while the Aces went down to a 95-108 defeat at the hands of the Magnolia Hotshots two days earlier.
Thus they set out in the league's pre-New Year's Day bill with the same wish - ending 2017 with a blast and nail a first win in the 2017-18 Philippine Cup.
The Texters came up short in its title bids all year long, losing their shots at the finals in the Philippine Cup and in the Governors Cup, and bungling a crack at the crown in the Commissioner's Cup.
The Aces, meanwhile, struggled all year long.
And their miseries extended to their first game in the new PBA season.—
PBA.com