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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
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04
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18
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2024
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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
04
18
2024
Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
RAIN or Shine coach Yeng Guiao has been keeping a close tab on the PBA Governors Cup opposition and has come to the conclusion those underdog tags should all be thrown out.
“There are no weak teams anymore in this conference,” noted Guiao on the eve of his squad’s collision with Blackwater Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
“Any team can beat any other team at any time so we have to expect Blackwater has the potential to do it against us,” added Guiao.
A second straight win by either the Elasto Painters or Elite would push each to at least a share of third-running spot.
That is one tantalizing position to be in for Blackwater, which nipped Star 100-98 last week.
“We will make good use of our win the last time we played against Star, hoping that win has elevated our
confidence to the next level,” said Elite coach Leo Isaac.
That is one thing Guiao is wary of. “We should come into the game highly prepared because anything less than 100 percent would put us in danger against a fighting team like Blackwater,” he said.
“They have a good import and the locals are contributing well in their offense.”
Indeed, Eric Dawson has consistently delivered the goods for Blackwater with averages of 20.5 and 14 rebounds per game. Mike Cortez, Jerrick Canada, JP Erram and Carlo Lastimosa have also chipped in their share.
For good measure, Palestinian Imad Qahwash has sorted out his problems and would be suiting up for the Elite for the first time and add to Guiao’s concerns.
To counter, the seven-time champion coach has laid out a basic gameplan.
“In our first two games we got dragged into a grind-it-out affair each time kaya ibig sabihin if Blackwater is able to hold on until the fourth quarter we will give them a chance to win and malalagay na naman kami in danger,” said Guiao.
“Kaya our objective is to put some distance between us even before the fourth quarter. We have seen the pressure other less-heralded teams put on the favored teams and we don’t want to be in that position.”
That, Guiao admitted, is easier said than done. “Ang hirap lang dito, comfortable margins are hard to come by these days. We are ready to carve it out in the endgame but we don’t want to go there,” he said.
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