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Rain or Shine not taking eliminated Meralco lightly
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Rain or Shine is set to take the last two steps in its bid to realize a cherished goal in the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup.
No less than coach Yeng Guiao knows that his Elasto Painters’ task, particularly against eliminated Meralco Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, remains far tougher than may seem at first glance. Game time is at 4:15 p.m.
“Meralco will be playing without pressure. That’s always dangerous for the opponents,” noted Guiao, whose team winds up the eliminations against another struggling team in NLEX on Saturday.
Wins by the E-Painters against the Bolts and Enforcers would seal their top two finish and an automatic semifinals berth.
Due to its 104-108 loss to GlobalPort last week Meralco was taken out of the running for inclusion among the top 10 teams advancing to the playoffs.
Even if the Bolts wind up with a win against the E-Painters they would still wind up with just two victories, one short of Mahindra and/or Blackwater and Star.
Either way, Meralco would still emerge with its worst performance yet in six seasons and 16 conferences with the league, but coach Norman Black would surely want his charges to still go all-out.
The game has far more importance for Rain or Shine since a loss could see it winding up tied for second, which would necessitate a playoff.
That is one possibility Guiao is trying to avoid and the key, he said, is taking the fight out of Meralco from the get-go.
“We have to start strong and try to win the game early. If they hang with us in the endgame we could be in trouble,” said Guiao.
Indeed, the Bolts should by now have learned from their previous losses which included fold-ups in the stretch and resulted in four two-point setbacks and three others by no more than four points.
“Meralco’s record does not reflect their real strength,” stressed Guiao. “We have to be strong mentally for us to win this game.” (NC)
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