RAIN or Shine is not taking its game lightly against lightweight Terrafirma on Wednesday, especially with something important at stake.
A victory against Terrafirma will give the Elasto Painters their sixth win, assuring them of a quarterfinals berth and a strong chance to capture a twice-to-beat advantage in the Commisisoner's Cup of the 49th Season Philippine Cup.
“Naka-focus kami talaga sa six wins,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao on Tuesday. “We are 5-3 right now. Hinahanap lang namin ‘yung paniguradong makapasok kami sa quarterfinals.”
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Besides the quarterfinals berth, a sixth win provides Rain or Shine some breathing space since its last two games will be against two of the league's strong teams.
One is against San Miguel in an out-of-town contest on Saturday in Cagayan De Oro, and the other against Barangay Ginebra, in the final day of the eliminations on June 15 at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
This is the the main reason why the Elasto Painters is not taking the Dyip lightly especially in light of their previous game in which they had the lead against Converge for a big chunk of the contest before falling, 117-103, last Wednesday.
“We also don’t want to underestimate them (Terrafirma),” Guiao said. “They played three good quarters, nung fourth quarter lang sila bumigay. They are still very dangerous.”
Guiao's assessment may not be entirely correct. At present, the Dyip is running on fumes, with just one win in nine games. Also, it can be assumed that morale is low at Terrafirma because the team is for sale and headed for new ownership.
A win would tie the Elasto Painters with Barangay Ginebra at fourth spot in the team standings, giving them a good shot at one of the four twice-to-beat incentives in the quarterfinals.
Rain or Shine improved its win-loss mark after a 109-99 victory over Phoenix last week, with huge performances from Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito, who had 30 and 20 points, respectively.
That win will go to waste if the Elasto Painters lose to the Dyip in their bid for a higher seeding in the quarterfinals.
“We want to come in mentally prepared. Pang-clincher namin ‘yun, after that, dalawang mahirap naman. If we don’t play really well on that game, it’s going to be harder getting the six wins that we are looking for,” said Guiao.
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