Painters, Aces start Finals duel

ALASKA coach Alex Compton and Rain or Shine deputy mentor Caloy Garcia bump fists as commissioner Chito Narvasa and members of the two teams look on. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

HAVING fresher legs and with all hands on deck, Rain or Shine tries to reward itself for being the most consistent team in the PBA with a title this time.

The Elasto Painters will come into the Oppo Commissioner’s Cup championship series against Alaska starting today with an edge in manpower as they hope to go all the way and win just the franchise’s second title, and first since 2012.

Game 1 tips off at 7 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao with the Painters having the import perfect for their needs, superstar point guard Paul Lee rounding out to lethal form, and a lineup that is arguably the deepest in the tournament.

Rain or Shine has been in the semifinals in nine of the last 10 conferences but has failed to add to the Governors’ Cup title it won four seasons ago.

Coach Yeng Guiao is gunning for his seventh career title and will be depending largely on his staff until after the national elections on Monday as he tries to get reelected as Pampanga’s representative to Congress.

The Painters and the Aces play basically the same up-tempo game. Alaska’s defense will be in focus as it tries to shut down a gung-ho Rain or Shine offense anchored on multiple players.

Jeff Chan and Jericho Cruz have shone in these playoffs for the Painters, while Calvin Abueva will, as usual, be the energizer bunny of the Aces.

Stars of both teams appeared in a pre-Finals presser yesterday at PBA Café and hinted that no one will be budging an inch as far as physicality is concerned.

“This will be a very tough Finals,” Abueva predicted in Filipino. “There’s nothing tougher than this. We’ll go all out for the trophy.”

Pierre Henderson-Niles and Rob Dozier, former college teammates at University of Memphis, will be pitted against each other, with the former—Guiao’s fourth import—expected to patrol the paint.

“You can’t argue with the record we have (with Henderson-Niles),” Guiao had said a few days ago.

His import has been the lowest-scoring reinforcement in the tournament and yet, the Painters have lost just one of their seven games with him.

Alaska will be without starting point guard JV Casio for the rest of the series and Vic Manuel for its early parts because of leg injuries.

And not having these two could eventually tell on the Aces.

This series will also mark the first time in a long, long while that no team from the rock-solid San Miguel Corp. umbrella nor one from the PLDT Group will be battling for the conference championship.