E-Painters try to keep card clean vs Gins

MANILA, Philippines – With a weeklong rest after a three-game romp, Rain or Shine returns to action oozing with confidence, taking on Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.

The only unbeaten team through the first three weeks of the tourney, the Elasto Painters play the Kings at 7:30 p.m. gunning for their fourth straight following rousing victories over the Alaska Milk Aces, the B-Meg Llamados and the Air21 Express.

“This is exactly what we prepared for. So far, everything is falling into place,” said coach Yeng Guiao after their most recent game versus the Express.

“We’re playing the kind of game that we want – balanced scoring, good ball movement and switching on defense,” added Guiao whose troops won their first three games by an average margin of nine points.

Having matched the franchise’s best start in a tourney following a 106-92 thrashing of the Express last Wednesday, the Elasto Painters are determined to set a new record in tangling with the Kings.

Facing a surging Rain or Shine, Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen hopes his team rises to the challenge.

“Playing against the top team is a good test to see where we are as a team. We have to play to our strength which is defense and see if it’s good enough against the league’s top scoring team,” said Tanquingcen.

The Kings put up a remarkable job against the Meralco Bolts in their road game in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu Saturday, pulling off a 100-73 rout.

Tanquingcen and his team now look for a follow-up win that will force a three-way or four-way tie atop the team standings.

Like Ginebra, B-Meg seeks a third win against a lone defeat in going up against Meralco at 5:15 p.m.

B-Meg coach Tim Cone said Meralco is surely not an easy assignment.

“Meralco is coming off a tough loss and will be looking to bounce back hard. That makes them doubly dangerous,” said Cone.

“We played in the quarters in the last conference so we’re familiar with each other. They have a couple of big weapons in (Macmac) Cardona and (Sol) Mercado that we will have to account for,” Cone also said.

Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio said the short conference compels them to find ways to bounce back from back-to-back defeats.

And if they want to have a chance, Gregorio said they must get their defensive mindset ready and Cardona must find his old scoring ways.

“Our defense is betraying us. We’ve been allowing 100 points per game in our last three outings,” Gregorio said.

Cardona’s slump, on the other hand, is conspicuous. A perennial contender in the scoring race, the former La Salle stalwart struggled for an average of 3.5 points in their last two games.