Boosters, E-Painters start series

Petron Blaze, the powerhouse which has been almost untouchable for close to two months now, battles defending champion Rain or Shine at the start today of their best-of-five Final Four series in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Unbeaten in their last nine games and with most of their victories coming in overwhelming style, the Boosters are installed as the heavy picks against the Elasto Painters in the lone contest slated at 7:15 p.m.

No team has beaten the Boosters after Meralco dealt them an 89-83 defeat last Aug. 16.  In its first semifinal series this season, Petron capped its streak with a quarterfinal victory over Barangay Ginebra last week.

Handicapped by Lee’s absence

On top of the daunting task of trying to hurdle a rock-solid side, Rain or Shine is also handicapped by the absence of former Rookie of the Year Paul Lee.

The spitfirish guard was declared out for the rest of the season because of a torn calf muscle.

And Lee’s absence automatically gives Petron the edge in the point-guard position with Alex Cabagnot and a rejuvenated back-up in Chico Lanete.

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao knows exactly what he is up against.

“Going back to an old cliché, we will take this one game at a time. We cannot afford to look any further,” Guiao said. “We have to look for weaknesses, even if they have none.

“We have to be strong mentally to make up for their depth and talent. We have to keep the game close to give ourselves a chance of winning,” he said.

Putting the cuffs of Millsap

Elijah Millsap has had two triple doubles so far, and it will be up to the likes of Gabe Norwood and Jireh Ibanes to try and put the cuffs on the Petron import in the short series.

Rain or Shine could also exploit the turnovers that Millsap has been making. In those two “T-D” performances, Millsap actually had quadruple doubles, logging 10 errors in each of those games.

Arizona Reid should dominate in scoring and Beau Belga and Larry Rodriguez should also find better ways to keep rookie June Mar Fajardo out of his sweet spot in the middle to prevent the 6-foot-9 Petron slotman from taking over the game.

Petron coach Gee Abanilla, though, is not about to let the favorites’ tag get into the minds of his charges.

“We have to raise our level of play a notch higher and expect a battle against Rain or Shine,” said Abanilla, a former assistant of Guiao.

“Being physically and mentally prepared against them is a priority if we want to be successful.”