Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs San Miguel
7:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs Meralco
San Miguel Beer, still on a high after its conquest of the previous tournament, begins its title-retention bid in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Welcoming the Beermen is a parched Rain or Shine side that is desperate to arrest an alarming skid and get into the win column in their 4:30 p.m. encounter.
Meanwhile, staying on top unbeaten is the mission of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel when it takes on Meralco in the main game of the double-header playdate set at 7:30 p.m.
But all eyes will be on San Miguel as it looks for a fitting follow-up to its Commissioner’s Cup championship run.
Although the Beermen got back into training just last 4 March after a much-deserved break following a 4-2 finals series victory over Magnolia, head coach Jorge Gallent is confident that his players are more than ready to get down to business.
“We’re good,” he said.
San Miguel is now relatively complete with big man June Mar Fajardo and playmaker Terrence Romeo back in action, leaving reserve guard Kyt Jimenez as the only player in sickbay.
“We were only nine and eight (players) at the start (of training) But we were able to achieve our goal in our hard practices lately and now we have 14 players,” Gallent said of his powerhouse lineup that includes last conferences Best Player and Finals Most Valuable Player CJ Perez.
The Elasto Painters, on the other hand, want to take advantage of a “cold” Beermen to cut their string of misfortunes.
Rain or Shine has yet to taste victory in three starts.
“Probably, this is a good time to play them,” Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said.
“Probably, they’re not yet feeling a sense of urgency, coming off a championship. That might be something we can take advantage of,” he added.
Rain or Shine’s defeats are all close games with its latest coming at the hands of the Gin Kings, 107-113, a week ago.
The Elasto Painters will try to outrun the Beermen with its young lineup led by Adrian Nocum, who is averaging 24.5 points per game, Anton Asistio, Leonard Santillan, Andrei Caracut and Gian Mamuyac.
Ginebra currently holds the top spot with a pristine 2-0 win-loss record.
Head coach Tim Cone wants his team to sustain the momentum it built heading into the long break.
After facing the Bolts, the Gin Kings will have a two-week before marching back into battle against Magnolia on 31 March.
Ginebra has been running an up-tempo game but Cone remains concerned with his team’s defense inside the paint.
The Gin Kings beat a much smaller Phoenix, 102-92, last Sunday but gave up 46 inside points.
“We want to find a way to (play) up-tempo and still emphasize our defense as well. That’s where we’re struggling to find balance right now,” Cone said.
Meralco, meanwhile, is on a two-game slide and sports a 1-3 slate at solo eighth spot.
The Bolts’ last setbacks came at the hands of NLEX, 96-99, and NorthPort, 85-90.
