RAIN or Shine and Barangay Ginebra begin their best-of-five semifinal series on Sunday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The match starts at 7 p.m.
The twice-to-beat Elastopainters needed two matches to eliminate eighth-seed GlobalPort to arrange a semifinal encounter with the Kings, who swept Meralco in their best-of-five series.
Rain or Shine is facing a Ginebra team that is on a seven-game winning streak and head coach Caloy Garcia said the top-seeded Elastopainters are facing a very tough series.
“Ginebra is playing probably the best basketball in the league. It's going to be hard to beat them especially the way they're playing and Tim Cone on their side,” said Garcia.
Expected to lead Rain or Shine are Reggie Johnson, as well as James Yap, who turned back the clock by scoring 27 points in the knockout match against GlobalPort.
For his part, Cone said he remained wary even though the Kings are on a seven-game winning streak.
“It’s a blessing because you got some momentum and you are playing well. A curse because at some point, you’re gonna come off the mountain,” said Cone.
Justin Brownlee is fresh from 36-point performance in the Kings’ 104-90 victory over Meralco in Game Two of the quarterfinals.
