A REMATCH pitting Yeng Guiao's former and current teams will serve as the main storyline when the PBA opens its Commissioner's Cup on March 17 as playoff contenders in the last all-Filipino conference are given a long, well-deserved break.
Right in the conference opener, NLEX and Guiao will be getting a chance at payback against a Rain or Shine side that dealt their former coach and his new team a 107-97 defeat in their only meeting in the Philippine Cup last December 23.
Another familiar face for RoS in former import Wayne Chism will be on the other side when the two teams face off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mahindra and Meralco clash in the other opening-day game at 4:15 p.m.
San Miguel and Ginebra, which saw action in the Philippine Cup Finals, will not be seeing action in the first seven playdates of the conference which also includes a road game in Tubod, Lanao Del Norte on March 25 pitting Star against GlobalPort.
Phoenix takes on Blackwater and Alaska debuts against GlobalPort when action shifts to the Astrodome in Pasay City on March 18 while the opening-day protagonists switch opponents the next day at the Big Dome, with RoS taking on Mahindra and NLEX taking on Meralco.
Star will be the first to see action among the Final Four contenders in the last Philippine Cup when it takes on Phoenix on March 22 at the Big Dome. TNT Katropa will make its debut on March 24 two days later, March 24, against sister team Meralco.
