RAIN or Shine and Meralco square off in a battle of unbeaten teams in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The defending champions Elasto Painters and rebuilding Bolts, both toting 3-0 win-lost cards, take the court at 7 p.m.
Alaska (2-0) battles Mahindra (1-2) at in the first game at 4:15 p.m.
Rain or Shine displayed championship form by disposing of Blackwater, 95-88, on Sunday, to remain unscathed in the mid-season conference.
Shawn Taggart provided the numbers with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but what mattered most was the clutch back-to-back triples of veteran forward Jay Washington that gave them enough cushion at endgame.
The Elasto Painters downed NLEX, 113-105, to open the conference and survived Gary David’s late-game explosion to escape past Mahindra, 99-95.
The Bolts shook off the stigma of a forgettable All-Filipino Cup and have been stepping up behind burly import Alex Stepheson.
The 6-foot-9 globetrotter scored 20 points and grabbed 27 rebounds as they pounded sister-team TNT Katropa last week. Meralco earlier beat NLEX, 91-84, and Mahindra, 94-86.
“Stepheson is strong. We have a good chance this conference because we have a great guy in the middle. Plus the locals really contribute well,” Meralco Head Coach Norman Black said.
“He [Stepheson] fills up that one position that we really need, the center,” Black added. “Hopefully he will still be a dominant force in our next games.”
Black wants his players to adjust to the run-and-gun play of the Caloy Garcia-coached Rain or Shine. He hopes Baser Amer, Chris Newsome and Jared Dillinger would be in top form against Jericho Cruz, Maverick Ahanmisi and James Yap.
“They [Elasto Painters] are tough. They really like to run and have quick shots. We must focus on defense and try to limit them,” Black said.