Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. — Bay Area vs NLEX
6:45 p.m. — Converge vs Rain or Shine
Visiting team Bay Area and surging Converge aim to ramp up their respective bids today in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Dragons, fresh from a sensational 120-87 victory over Rain or Shine that saw the returning Myles Powell unloading 50 points that included 11 triples, face NLEX at 4:30 p.m.
The FiberXers, meanwhile, take the stage at 6:45 opposite Rain or Shine, a team still reeling from the after-effects of Bay Area’s manhandling.
Once again, all eyes will be on Powell, a former National Basketball Association campaigner who has made it a habit to punish rival teams with his outside sniping.
It took Powell just three quarters to match the feat of former Mobiline import Jerod Ward, the last import to hit 11 treys in a game.
The greatest number of triples made by a reinforcement in a game happened in 1987 when Jose Slaughter converted 14 while playing for Hills Bros.
Allan Caidic’s 17 hits from downtown in 1991 stands as the PBA best up to this day.
While Powell was delighted to match Ward, winning remains topmost on his list of priorities.
The Road Warriors have lost three straight games and they will have to shape up against Bay Area.
Like the Dragons, the FiberXers want to sustain their streak that just got extended to six and the youngest team in the PBA looks bent on keeping its winning ways in Asia’s pioneering professional league.
The FiberXers will take on an Elasto Painters team whose gamble on bringing in a new import in Ryan Pearson doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Pearson was nothing short of a disappointment, scoring only nine in his debut game, and he will have his hands full facing Quincy Miller, another NBA veteran, when the Elasto Painters battle the FiberXers at 6:45 p.m.
Both the FiberXers and the Dragons carry 7-2 slates and a victory against their respective opponents would be crucial going to the closing stretch of the single round elimination.
The top two teams at the end of the elimination round will carry a twice-to-beat advantage ahead of the playoffs and Bay Area and Converge will definitely have only one thing in mind on Sunday’s double header.
