ROS faces Barako; San Mig vs Alaska

MARK Yee of Globalport goes for a reverse lay-up off Asi Taulava of Air 21 at MOA arena Wednesday. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Rain or Shine tries to close in on third spot even as a rejuvenated San Mig Coffee squad tangles with struggling Alaska Milk today in the PLDT

MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Buoyed by their scintillating overtime win over the Petron Blaze Boosters the last time out, the Elasto Painters shoot for their sixth victory against Barako Bull in the 5:45 p.m. game.

A victory will push the Elasto Painters to within half a game off the third-running Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, who hold a 6-2 slate.

An explosive duel is also expected when the Mixers seek payback against the Aces in the second game at 8 p.m.

After winning just once in their first five games, the Mixers seem to have rediscovered their fine form with victories over Barako Bull and Globalport.

The Aces, currently tied with Meralco and Barako Bull at 3-6, dropped three of their last four outings but coach Luigi Trillo hopes to end the year on a winning note and also dislodge San Mig at sixth place.

“We have to improve,” said Trillo, aware that the Mixers have slowly but surely picked up their game after a horrendous start.  “They (Mixers) have that big lineup that we need to worry about. They have a ton of weapons.”

The San Mig resurgence has been attributed to plenty of factors, including James Yap’s clutch play in the victory over the Batang Pier. Yap nailed a triple down the stretch and Mark Barroca also knocked in two free throws, giving the Mixers enough cushion  to secure their second straight win.

“The guys are a little worn-out and it seems like years that we got back-to-back wins,” said San Mig coach Tim Cone, whose charges bowed to the Aces, 80-84, in their initial duel last Nov. 22.

Rain or Shine pinned the first loss on Petron with a 99-85 overtime victory last Saturday that also snapped a two-game slide. Jervy Cruz notched a double-double, forming a deadly combination with Paul Lee in delivering the telling blows against the erstwhile unbeaten Boosters.

The Elasto Painters dumped the Energy, 91-83, in their first meeting with TY Tang, JR Quinahan, and Jeff Chan carrying the cudgels on the offensive end.

The Energy are also coming off a 99-86 triumph over Meralco last Sunday that finally ended a six game slump.

“We were able to get over the hump,” said Energy coach Bong Ramos, whose charges burned the Bolts with 14 triples. “That is only one game and hopefully, we continue to upset teams.”