RAIN or Shine gets a much-needed help as it seeks to clinch a quarterfinals berth in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday.
The Elasto Painters reactivated rookie big man Keith Datu in time for its all-important match against NLEX on Friday at the Philsports Arena.
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Datu has been out of action for almost two months after going down with an MCL Grade 2 injury in the team’s game against Barangay Ginebra.
Rain or Shine was 0-3 when the No. 4 overall pick in last year’s draft suffered the injury.
But the Elasto Painters have since turned things around, winning five of their last six outings to move into strong contention for a seat in the playoffs.
At the moment, Rain or Shine is tied for fifth place at 5-5 along with Meralco, TNT, and Terrafirma.
A win over the Road Warriors (5-4) will send the team outright to the playoffs, but a loss could complicate matters for coach Yeng Guiao and his team since the battle has been a close race for the remaining quarterfinal berths.
NLEX activates Taha
NLEX also added size to its frontline entering the playoffs, reactivating Yousef Taha in favor of Jorey Napoles.
Before his injury, Datu averaged 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per outing for Rain or Shine.
Datu will take over the place of fellow rookie Luis Villegas, who has been relegated to the injury/reserved list.
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