Meralco tackles Ginebra; Petron faces ROS today

MANILA—Meralco and Petron Blaze, both missing their best local scorer, gun for a third win against separate foes today in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The B-Boys will try to keep their streak alive and wrest the solo lead even with Mac Cardona listed as doubtful starter when they clash with crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra in the 7:15 p.m. game.

Earlier, the Boosters, who will continue to be without Jay Washington, slug it out with Rain or Shine and
Arizona Reid at 5 o’clock, with Petron hoping to stretch its winning skein after opening up with a loss.

Champ Oguchi and a hard-working local crew will be Meralco’s answer to whatever overwhelming crowd support Ginebra will have in the main game as the Gin Kings try to bounce back from a lopsided loss to the Boosters last weekend.

Curtis Stinson, the regular season MVP of the NBA’s D-League, will be Ginebra’s main gun with support coming from a stellar guard rotation led by Mark Caguioa and former two-time MVP Willie Miller.

Washington is expected to be out for at least the next two weeks because of a mysterious foot injury.

The former MVP candidate has been out of the rotation ever since scoring 18 points in a 100-105 loss to Meralco last June 12. The 6-foot-7 center has undergone an MRI scan and the result has been sent to the United States for a second opinion from experts.

What’s unusual is that Washington, according to team manager Robert Non, does not feel any pain or discomfort in his foot after hearing it ‘pop’ during the game against the B-Boys.

Minus Washington, the Boosters have been on a roll mainly because of new import Jeremy Wise, who came in as a replacement for the ineffective Ricky Harris and averaged 27 points an outing.

The bearded lefty is expected to be even better against the Elasto Painters and Reid after shaking off jet lag that slowed him down a bit in the first two games.

Reid, meanwhile, will try to lead his squad back after their first loss of the tournament, a wicked 120-108 beating suffered at the hands of the Grand Slam-seeking Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters a few nights ago.
Oguchi is no doubt the prime offensive option of the B-Boys, with Asi Taulava providing the muscle underneath and Mark Isip the inside scoring.