PBA: Painters battle hurting Mixers

Raymond Almazan. INQUIRER.net file photo

Rain or Shine guns for win No. 4 while Meralco seeks a third straight victory today when they slug it out with separate foes in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The Elasto Painters battle the short-handed San Mig Coffee Mixers in the main game at 8 p.m., shortly after the Bolts collide with the struggling Globalport Batang Pier in the 5:45 p.m. opener.

Slowly but surely coming into top form since No. 3 pick Raymond Almazan boosted their stock, the Painters are slightly picked against the Mixers, who have some serious manpower shortage.

Though San Mig will be coming off its first win, the Mixers are still at a disadvantage with former two-time MVP James Yap expected to sit out a second straight game because of a hyper-extended right elbow.

And with the continued absence of Joe Devance and with Peter June Simon still not in game shape fully, the Mixers are expected to find it tough matching up man-for-man with the Painters, one of the league’s more complete teams on paper with a loaded lineup.

Almazan, the 6-foot-8 former NCAA MVP with Letran, has given a good account of himself in his first three games as a pro. And he will be tested tonight by the San Mig frontline that has Rafi Reavis, Marc Pingris and Yancy De Ocampo.

But Rain or Shine’s edge will come in the backcourt through Paul Lee, Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood as Devance’s continued absence could ultimately tell on the Mixers.

Meralco’s confidence is sky-high after taking down the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings a couple of nights back at Mall of Asia Arena and becoming the first squad to shatter the crowd-darlings’ growing myth of invincibility.

The Bolts also have some serious injury problems, with Reynel Hugnatan joining the list after a bad ankle twist in the early going of the game against the Gin Kings.

“As long as the game is played five-on-five, no team will have the edge,” Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio said after that win over Ginebra, which was so lopsided it looked like the Kings were the underdogs going into that match.

Jared Dillinger played a monster game and Rabeh Al-Hussaini was formidable under the boards against the Kings. And if Gregorio can get the same from them tonight and the usual numbers from the prolific Gary David, then Meralco could be all right.

Rookie Terrence Romeo will again play a key role in offense for Globalport, but it would be safe to assume that Gregorio will plot a defensive ploy against the high-scoring former Far Eastern ace.