Sink or swim for Painters

Grounded by two straight losses, Rain Or Shine has its back against the wall in facing Barako Bull tonight and Barangay Ginebra tomorrow in a pair of PBA Commissioner Cup games in Dubai. If the Elasto Painters return home winless, they’ll likely be the first casualty in the struggle to survive the single round-robin eliminations.

The conference format is a killer. Each of the PBA’s 10 teams plays nine games in the eliminations. The top two finishers advance to the semifinals outright while the last four placers are booted out of contention. The remaining squads figure in separate best-of-three quarterfinal series where No. 3 plays No. 6 and No. 4 meets No. 5. In the best-of-five semifinals, the No. 1 seed takes on the winner of the No. 4-No. 5 duel and the No. 2 seed the winner of the No. 3-No. 6 tie. The semifinal winners move on to dispute the championship in the best-of-seven finals.

Because the eliminations won’t offer second servings, the teams are pressured to win as many games as possible and as quickly as possible. If there are ties for the second and sixth positions, they will be settled via a playoff with all other deadlocks in rankings determined by the quotient system.

Rain Or Shine initially brought in 6-11, 26-pound center Jake Voskuhl as its import but sent him packing before the conference started. Voskuhl, 34, wasn’t impressive in his practice games. The Painters coaching staff decided to go for an alternative. “Voskuhl’s big but his size won’t be enough to bring us to the playoffs,” confided a team official.

Voskuhl has seen better days on the court. In 1999, he teamed with Rip Hamilton in powering the University of Connecticut to the NCAA championship. Voskuhl was the Chicago Bull’s second round pick in the 2000 NBA draft and went on to play for five teams in nine seasons, averaging 4.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 450 career games. When he showed up for Rain Or Shine, Voskuhl was just a shadow of his old self.

The best available replacement was Willard Vincent (Duke) Crews, a 24-year-old upstart who was dismissed from the University of Tennessee varsity after two years and wound up with Bowie State in the NCAA Division II. It was reported that Crews got his walking papers for academic deficiencies and failing a fourth drug test. In the PBA, Crews’ problem is he’s undersized. He’s listed at 6-8 but probably closer to 6-6. Against seven-footers like Alaska’s Adam Parada and Ginebra’s Chris Alexander, Crews is dwarfed by the opposition. Crews’ saving grace is he’s young and strong. But obviously, the Painters need a lot more from Crews to get ahead.

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In his PBA debut against Alaska, Crews grabbed 11 rebounds to Parada’s 20 and the Aces won, 109-102. Crews wasn’t much of a factor in Rain Or Shine’s next game, a 122-120 loss to Powerade. He finished with 12 rebounds to Tigers import Dwayne Jones’ 21. While he’s averaging 28 points, Crews isn’t holding his own under the boards.  To make matters worse, Crews is hitting only 57 percent from the line and was a dismal 3-of-10 against Powerade.

Rain Or Shine battles two teams coming off losses so the opposition won’t take losing as an option, too. Barako is fresh from a stinging 97-88 setback to Air 21, the Bulls’ second defeat in a row. Barako import DerMarr Johnson is an awesome individual talent with impressive credentials. But to contend against the upper crust, Barako needs a dominant big man, not an import who likes to light up from the perimeter.

Ginebra is also nursing wounds of defeat. Last Saturday, the Kings yielded a 76-74 decision to Alaska. Alexander is back but in what shape? Against the Aces, he hauled down 24 boards but fired only seven points. For Ginebra to shake up the league, Alexander must be an imposing threat on the low block. If he’s dangerous in offense, Alexander will invite double or triple teams – which means creating opportunities for kick-outs and dishes to slashers. In the Kings’ loss, Rudy Hatfield was absent – he hurriedly flew to the US to attend to a family funeral. But in Dubai, the H-Bomb is present and accounted for.

 Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen won’t just rely on a fully-loaded backcourt which by the way, is fueled by Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa, Mike Cortez and Rob Labagala. His frontline is as formidable with Alexander, Hatfield, Kerby Raymundo, Billy Mamaril and Willie Wilson. Throw in versatile super subs Dylan Ababou and Niño Canaleta who play multiple positions and Tanquingcen has a lineup that could go all the way. Ginebra’s chances, however, hinge on Alexander’s ability to lead by example. Alexander’s got to show the way on both ends and bring back memories of the Kings’ 2007-08 title campaign which he masterminded.

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Incidentally, Johnson is one of three NBA veterans among the imports this conference. The others are Petron’s Nick Fazekas who played for the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers and Powerade’s Jones who suited up for Boston, Cleveland, Charlotte and Phoenix.

If newly arrived Earl Barron plays for Meralco, he’ll be the fourth NBA player in the Commissioner’s Cup. Barron, 30, was recently cut by the Golden State Warriors after appearing in two games this season. The 7-foot mastadon previously played for Miami, New York, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Portland. In all, Barron performed in six NBA seasons. His biggest NBA contract was with Miami where he collected a paycheck of more than $2 Million over three years. In 2005, Barron was here to play for Red Bull so he’s no stranger to PBA fans and the PBA game.

At presstime, Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio was unsure if Barron would end up playing for the Bolts as Jarrid Famous is still in town. A decision will be made soon. Meralco’s next game is against Powerade on Sunday. The Bolts are 1-2 with Famous in the roster. It’s likely Barron will get the nod for Sunday’s game but Famous will be waiting in the wings just in case Gregorio opts for a recall.