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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
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04
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26
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2024
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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
04
26
2024
San Miguel Beer and Rain or Shine collide in another exciting duel of old, fancied rivals Friday with the Elasto Painters bringing in yet another new import in an effort to boost its bid going to the last half of the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round.
The Beermen ride the momentum of a three-game run but are taking the E-Painters with a lot of caution as Rain or Shine shows up with new reinforcement Mo Charlo.
San Miguel tries to catch up with Alaska Milk at second place at 4-1 while Rain or Shine looks to hit the .500 mark at 3-3 as the Beermen and the E-Painters clash at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Coach Leo Austria and his troops beat coach Yeng Guiao and his chargers in each of their last three games, punctuating their 4-2 triumph in their best-of-seven semifinal showdown in the recent Philippine Cup.
“This is another exciting duel for the two of us. This game is important in our respective bids to make it to the top at the end of the elims. We’re on a streak but they’re on a resurgence as they’ve shown in their mighty conquest of NLEX,” said Austria.
“Nakakatakot yon ipinakita nila against NLEX. At mas nakakatakot sila ngayon dahil bago yong import nila at hindi namin kilala at hindi scouted,” Austria also said.
Rain or Shine is eager to come out and renew its rivalry with SMB.
“We’re looking forward to playing San Miguel with a new import. It’s time for us to put a streak together and get back to contention,” said Guiao, also hoping to draw strength on the return of Paul Lee.
“We have a new import and Paul is playing his first game this conference. It’s a big test for both of them and the team in general,” Guiao also said.
After struggling in three games with Antoine Wright, Rain or Shine decided to bring in Charlo, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound University of Nevada product who made the NBA D-League All-Defensive First Team and NBA D-League All-Stars in 2014. He came in fresh from a stint in the Uruguay league.
“The nice thing about Mo is that he is fresh from a pro tournament, meaning he’s in game shape. Unlike when we got Antoine Wright, he was inactive for seven months. So that’s the first important thing,” said Guiao.
“The second important thing is he’s comfortable playing the 4 position, or the power forward spot. He can post up, he can attack the basket, and he can also knock down outside shots,” Guiao added. “Antoine tried his best playing the 4 spot but his natural position is 3 (small forward). Also with Mo, he’s the type who can run with us since he’s very active and very athletic. He can jump, and grab more rebounds for us.”
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