Rain or Shine in must win vs Star
A regular Final Four figure in the last nine conferences, Rain or Shine is now in an unfamiliar territory, in trouble going into its last game in the PBA Governors Cup elims.
The Elasto Painters are in a must-win situation as they play the Star Hotshots at 7 p.m. Friday at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
A loss will mean outright elimination while a win will extend their season for just another game.
Heading into the match, the E-Painters, proud champs in the recent Commissioner’s Cup, are outside the Magic Eight with a 4-6 win-loss card.
They must hurdle the Hotshots to finish tied from seventh to ninth with the Phoenix Fuel Masters and either the NLEX Road Warriors or the Alaska Milk Aces at 5-6.
The logjam will be resolved by the quotient tiebreak system with the two teams with inferior quotients to figure in a knockout match for the last quarters berth. The team with the best quotient automatically clinches No. 7 spot.
Complications are eased out if the Hotshots beat the E-Painters.
The Hotshots are playing with no pressure as they’re already out of playoff contention.
“That’s the danger there,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, thinking they have a job cut out for them versus the Hotshots.
A comforting thought for the E-Painters is the fact that Josh Dollard has had couples of practices with the team now.
Dollard, a returning PBA import, had a decent debut with Rain or Shine versus San Miguel but the ROS locals struggled badly and went down reeling with a crucial 75-82 loss.
“Our new import hasn’t totally jelled with the team. If he could have come earlier, we could have won a few more games,” Guiao said after the ROS-SMB match.
“I feel that with our next game on Friday, we have a few more days to blend in with the import. He had six assists, but he also had six turnovers. If the turnovers would have cut into half, I think it would be very decent,” Guiao added.
Guiao believes Dollard can help them a lot more now.
“He’s not in game shape (the last time), but for a guy who’s not in game shape, it’s a very decent performance. We feel that he can play better on Friday. Tingin ko naman ang kailangan niya lang is get his conditioning back because we can tell that he has the skills and he is a better scorer,” said the fiery ROS mentor.
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
