‘DESPERATE’ E-PAINTERS, ENERGY COLA COLLIDE
RAIN or Shine knew there would be bumps in its PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign, but not like this.
That is why there is a certain amount of desperation within the Elasto Painters when they try to get back on track against an equally despondent Barako Bull Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Following an auspicious start to the conference in which they won two of their first three games, the Energy Cola have suddenly taken a dive by dropping four straight that relegated them from a top two slot to the lower half of the standings.
Now comes Rain or Shine aching to arrest its own two-game slide, which makes it more formidable as an opponent at this stage.
“Tough game for us. Very important game for us to change our conference,” said Barako active consultant Rajko Toroman. “We were playing good in our last two games but lost. Hopefully we can continue to play good.”
His team’s skid, coming on the heels of a five-game run, is minor compared to Barako’s but enough to cause alarm bells to ring for coach Yeng Guiao. “We are kind of desperate,” he admitted.
“We don’t want us losing three in a row, because that would mean lessening our chances to make the top two, lalo pa ngayon na gumaganda ang laro ng ibang teams.”
Those losses could have easily been shrugged off, especially a 76-86 defeat to Talk N Text. But not a 79-87 loss to import-less Petron Blaze last Saturday.
“We really want to rebound from the embarassing setback to Petron,” said Guiao.
There’s one nagging problem, however, and Guiao was the first to point this out. “We cannot seem to get any offensive rhythm, especially from our outside shots,” he stated.
Against the Tropang Texters, the E-Painters went 7-for-35 from beyond the arc. Then came a 2-for-18 three-point shooting against the Boosters.
“Iyung dalawang tres na iyon, kay Bruno (Sundov) pa,” noted Guiao, referring to his 7-foot-2 Croatian import.
“If we are not making outside shots, it makes life difficult for Bruno inside,” he added. “Hindi naman pwedeng palagi namin siyang ilabas because we really need him in the lanes or low posts.”
Even the return of Jeff Chan following a six-game absence due to a fractured left thumb in the Petron game did little to help Rain or Shine’s cause. The gunner scored just six points and missed all his three three-point tries.
Once the E-Painters’ snipers find their mark, then Guiao believes his team has a very good shot at nabbing a top two slot following the 14-game eliminations and nail a twice-to-beat advantage that goes with it in the ensuing quarterfinals.
“It’s not too late,” said Guiao. “If we can get back on track tomorrow then we can probably put on another run.” (NC)
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