Rain or Shine ElastoPainters against NorthPort Batang Pier in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. –PBA IMAGES
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao instructed his wards to adopt a simple approach that worked well during an eventual rout of former solo leader NorthPort that ended a two-game slump in the PBA Commissioners Cup.
“I told them to take this losing streak off our hands,” Guiao said after Thursday’s 127-107 victory at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City, which created another upset in the Mid-Conference playoff standings. -season.
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The ElastoPainters improved to 6-3 (win-loss) to forge a four-way deadlock for fourth through seventh place with Hong Kong Eastern, Barangay Ginebra and the Meralco Bolts while taking Batang Pier from first solo to a starts from the second.
Guiao and Rain or Shine also regained their confidence after disappointing losses to Phoenix and Converge which saw the E-Painters playing below the form they showed in this conference.
“We can win as best we can. If we compete at our best, that’s really when we win,” Guiao said. “But in the last two games we played half-heartedly, we didn’t play with strength and we didn’t show enough determination to compete.
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“But I guess losing two games is a good thing for us. It’s a wake-up call and a way to reset our mindset,” he added.
Seven players scored in double figures, led by import Deon Thompson’s 27. Locals Santi Santillan, Adrian Nocum, Anton Asistio and Andrei Caracut, who struggled during the team’s skid, were all part of Rain or Shine’s great offensive display.
The E-Painters hope to build on their victory to face Barangay Ginebra on Wednesday next week at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City in a key battle for playoff positioning.
“Ginebra is playing well, but I am confident the team can get the job done, provided we are competitive,” Guiao said.
Ginebra also badly needs a win on Friday, also at Philsports, against TNT at 7:30 p.m., the first meeting between the two teams since the conclusion of the Governors’ Cup final last November.
TNT, who won this series in six games, moved to the top of the standings with a 5-2 record (win-loss) and with the loss to NorthPort, having been on a roll after consecutive losses to open the conference.
The Tropang Giga defeated the NLEX Road Warriors, 94-87, on Wednesday night at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Eastern is favored to hand winless Terrafirma its 11th defeat in Friday’s 5 p.m. curtain-raiser.
NorthPort fell to 7-3 to tie Converge after another double-digit loss. Batang Pier started the week with a 17-point loss to the Bolts.
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While import Kadeem Jack scored 39 points, NorthPort couldn’t get much from Arvin Tolentino and Joshua Munzon initially despite finishing with 19 and 17 respectively.
