Rain or Shine wary of gritty Barako Bull
With San Miguel Beer barely escaping past Barako Bull on a last-second heroic of Arwind Santos, who wouldn’t be wary of the Energy?
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao expressed much concern against Barako Bull ahead of their 7 p.m. tiff Friday in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“They have a really pesky set of guards who can pull the rug from under you. They have improved a great deal from last year,” said Guiao.
“Our challenge is to extend out on their shooters without getting beaten off the dribble. We also need our bigs to keep playing well as a group,” Guiao also said.
Guiao considers the Energy as a big threat with their even 3-3 record with victories over Mahindra (93-85), Barangay Ginebra (82-79) and Meralco (108-106).
They should have been at 4-2 if not for the lucky break San Miguel Beer enjoyed in the closing seconds of their 106-105 squeaker Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
In the right place at the right time, Santos picked up the loose ball on a missed jumper by Marcio Lassiter then hit the winning shot right before the buzzer as the Beermen survived the Energy’s tough stand anchored on a franchise two-year best 17 three-pointers.
“They are especially dangerous if they are making their 3s,” said Guiao of the Energy.
The Elasto Painters intend to play the Energy with a lot of caution, looking to again catch up with the Alaska Milk Aces and the Beermen in the lead at 5-1.
Barako Bull, meanwhile, is out to bounce back from a loss to SMB and to tie Barangay Ginebra at sixth place at 4-3.
Stopped on their tracks by the Globalport Batang Pier, 111-113, on Nov. 13, the E-Painters quickly regained their winning ways with a 103-81 rout of the Blackwater Elite the last time out.
Beau Belga, Jericho Cruz, Jeff Chan, Raymond Almazan and JR Quinahan lead the way for the E-Painters with their double-digit averages.
Willy Wilson has had double-double norms (13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds) for the Energy who also get regular double-digit outputs from RR Garcia (15.3 ppg), JC Intal (14.8 ppg) and Josh Urbiztondo (10 ppg).
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