Rain or Shine battles Ginebra for early lead

ROOKIE Cliff Hodge (right) of Meralco goes for a shot against Talk ‘N Text’s Ranidel de Ocampo and Kelly Williams. The Texters won in overtime, 112-110. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

A BLOCKBUSTER is expected when the league’s rough and tough teams Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel collide for the early lead today in the PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Rain or Shine coach Yeng coach says he’s excited over the 6:30 p.m. match with Barangay Ginebra—a battle of two teams enjoying huge following because of their explosive playing styles.

Newcomer Global Port and Air21 seek their first win when they clash at 4:15 p.m.

Ginebra opened the season with a convincing 110-90 triumph over Global Port with reigning MVP Mark Caguioa pacing a balanced attack with 18 points.

The Gin Kings also paraded impressive  rookies in Keith Jensen and Chris Ellis even as Gilas stalwart LA Tenorio made a big splash in a Ginebra uniform by dishing out 10 assists, grabbing nine rebounds and pulling off two steals.

“The system they are using now has similarities to what we’re doing,” observed Guiao. “Like us, they’re now using more players, they limit the playing time of players, and they are running. Because of that, I think of them as a new team. Their new players also played well with their veterans.”

“But I’m excited. It’s interesting to play a team with similarities with my own team. I hope we can sustain our speed with their speed. From what we saw in their first game, they’ll be a solid contender,” added Guiao.

The Elasto Painters are buoyed by their 102-86 win over Petron Blaze.

Explosive scorer and national team standout Jeff Chan banged in 20 points in that game and got ample support from the likes of Jervy Cruz, JR Quiñahan and Jireh Ibanez, who all turned in double-digit scores.

But what dampened Rain or Shine’s otherwise shining start was the injury sustained by rookie superstar Chris Tiu.

The popular 27-year-old Tiu hurt his left hamstring and could be out for at least six weeks.