Powerhouse Texters face Boosters; Painters vs Aces

MANILA, Philippines - After the blockbuster PBA All Saints Day offering comes an equally special double-header tonight with two-time Philippine Cup defending champion Talk n Text colliding with traditional powerhouse Petron Blaze and red-hot teams Rain or Shine and Alaska Milk squaring off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Elasto Painters-Aces match is set at 5:15 p.m. before the Tropang Texters and the Boosters mix it up at 7:30 p.m. in showdowns of teams fancied to contend for the crown.

Though losing its last game to Alaska, Talk n Text still leads the field with a 6-1 win-loss card, followed by Rain or Shine, the Aces and the SMC Mixers at 5-2.

Petron is in the middle of the pack at 3-4.

Both games are expected to go down-to-the-wire with the Texters, the Elasto Painters and the Aces out to sustain their charge and the Boosters tipped to bounce back after a shaky start.

Rain or Shine and Alaska, currently the league’s hottest teams, are likely to give one another tough test.

“Alaska has discovered the formula for success. It’s up to the rest of the teams to find an antidote,” said RoS coach Yeng Guiao, impressed with the Aces’ five-game romp.

“We are catching teams on winning runs. First, Talk n Text, then Rain or Shine and San Mig Coffee on Saturday. Tough schedule. All we did was put us back in the middle of the standings. And we will be facing again a team on a streak,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo, trying to downplay the impact of their run.

The Aces have never lost a game in four games with prized rookie Calvin Abueva in tow.

Interesting is how Abueva fares against the Rain or Shine’s hardnosed players.

Guiao, however, is not just concerned about Abueva.

“Abueva is just the catalyst. (Jvee) Casio and Cyrus (Baguio) are the main weapons we have to deal with, not to mention Sonny Thoss. I’m hoping our defensive energy versus Meralco carries over to this game. We will continue to look to other offensive options and try to spread out our scoring,” said Guiao.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra and Air21, both languishing down the cellar, agreed to a trade deal last night involving guard Mike Cortez and rookie center Yousef Taha. The deal is subject to the approval of PBA commissioner Chito Salud.

Both the E-Painters and the Aces are coming off stirring victories with the former tripping the Meralco Bolts, 106-81, and the latter coming from behind to stop the Tropang Texters, 94-92.

“I think they play more as a team because (Paul) Lee and (Chris) Tiu are not there. So they move the ball more,” said Trillo of the E-Painters.

Both the Texters and the Boosters, on the other hand, are coming off sorry defeats.

Over an hour after their upset loss to Air21, Petron coach Olsen Racela and his staff were still locked in their dugout at the Big Dome Friday.

Meanwhile, Dorian Pena joins Danny Ildefonso and Junmar Fajardo on the sideline due to knee contusion. The Fil-Am center will be out for two weeks.

“We’ll be playing the No. 1 team right now without our centers. We just have to find a way to win,” said Racela.