JARRID Famous suits up for Globalport today when the Batang Pier, coming off their first loss in the PBA Governors’ Cup, battle a Rain or Shine crew still seeking its first win in the season-ending conference.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. in Manila) at Al Shabab Al Arabi Club in Dubai, the site of the first of two straight games that the Elasto Painters will be playing in their quest to vault back in contention.
Famous planed in late Tuesday night and joined the Batang Pier for practice. Globalport initially fielded the lumbering 7-foor-1 Patrick O’Bryant with Steve Thomas pinch-hitting for two games.
Coach Pido Jarencio also arrived late for the Batang Pier after being hospitalized on the day of the team’s flight to the oil-rich emirate because of severe diarrhea.
The Batang Pier have never had a conference start this good.
They won their first three games and own a victory over defending champion Star Hotshots (formerly Purefoods) before being dropped back to earth over the weekend by San Miguel Beer, 124-102.
But the arrival of Famous is again expected to perk up the spirits of the Batang Pier, who have the league’s leading local scorer in Terrence Romeo and super rookie Stanley Pringle.
Famous will be pitted against Wendell McKines, whom Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said will be evaluated very closely in these two games, the second against Barangay Ginebra tomorrow night.
Paul Lee will again be the main local gun for Guiao, with the former Rookie of the Year also likely to get either Romeo or Pringle as a defensive assignment.
The PBA plays an official game in Dubai for the first time in three years. In its initial sortie, Barangay Ginebra nipped the Painters, 89-88.