RAIN or Shine may have the No. 3 seed and the twice-to-beat advantage for the quarterfinals of the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup, but it is understandable why its opponent in sixth-ranked San Miguel may still be slightly favored.
The Beermen are perhaps the most dangerous among the bottom four teams in the first round of the playoffs due to the fact the June Mar Fajardo and Cjay Perez-led team is coming off a conquest in the Philippine Cup.
That being said, Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao is comfortable with how his team is being viewed.
“We embrace the thought that we're still considered the underdogs vs. SMB,” he said. “That's been our whole identity ever since. We come to compete on Friday without doubt and hesitation that we have what it takes to win and get to the next level.”
RoS' confidence against SMB
Fueled by their run-and-gun game, RoS clinched the third seed with a 9-3 record at the end of eliminations, with one of its victories a 116-112 decision against San Miguel last April 8.
READ: Coach Yeng expects tough QFs for RoS, even with playoff incentive
Guiao, though, now sees a different Beermen side with Bennie Boatwright as their import rather than Justin Patton, whose last game turned out to be the one against Rain or Shine.
“We know it's going to be tougher than our first meeting. Boatwright brings more scoring and chemistry to their team than Patton did when we first played them,” he said.
The Elasto Painters push forward with the first of their two chances at clinching a semifinal berth on Friday, 5:15 p.m. at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
“We have two chances to get lucky against them. We hope we can deliver in our first attempt,” said Guiao.
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