Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Four fancied squads coming off losses return to action on Friday, with one of those teams eager to get back on track after losing to the PBA Philippine Cup cellar dweller last week.
“We’ve gotten over that,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia told the Inquirer over the phone after coming off “the best practice I’ve had with this team,” as the Elasto Painters slug it out with NLEX and their former coach at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“We were too overconfident against KIA,” he said of the 98-94 loss, which almost made the Painters the butt of league jokes after losing to the team that got blown away by its last three foes by an average of more than 35 points. “I just told my players that those things happen and asked them na huwag na maulit.”
The Road Warriors, of all the teams playing, have the longest losing streak at three and, in Garcia’s view, are the favorites in the 4:30 p.m. contest.
“They’re a bigger team than us, and if we can’t run, we will be in trouble,” Garcia said of NLEX, which opened up with two straight wins but has tumbled ever since. “Their lineup is superior (than ours) and we’re also hoping that they have an off night.”
NLEX, fresh from a 109-98 setback to tournament leader San Miguel Beer, will actually be coming off one of its worthiest performances where it pushed the powerhouse Beermen to the limit.
“We need to run against their bigs,” Garcia said.
Kiefer Ravena, NLEX’s super rookie, will be coming into another game where most defensive guns will be trained on him.
Garcia has the tools to throw at the 6-foot Ravena, who erupted for 31 points against Magnolia and is being groomed by Yeng Guiao to be more of a team player.
Barangay Ginebra, meanwhile, comes into its 7 p.m. clash with Phoenix Petroleum seeking to put an end to a two-game slide even with cornerstone Greg Slaughter listed as doubtful for the second straight game.
The 7-foot Slaughter sat out a 97-83 loss to Alaska last Sunday because of a reported hamstring pull, and if he is still injured, that levels things up a bit against the Fuel Masters.
Phoenix has one of the league’s deadliest guns in Matthew Wright and has taken a defensive mentality ever since Louie Alas took over as coach at the start of the season.
The Fuel Masters are also longing to have a dominant big man with Alas saying that they are “2 to 3 blue-chip players away” from contending with the league’s elite teams.