Painters need solid game vs Beermen

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine and San Miguel Beer face off again after their Philippine Cup semifinal duel a little over a month ago, both looking for a victory and the momentum in the short elimination phase of the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The lone Wednesday tiff is set at 8 tonight with the Beermen setting out as the slightly favored team despite being beaten by the Elasto Painters, 4-1, in their all-Filipino best-of-seven semifinal showdown.

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao is the first to admit they’re the underdogs against the Beermen and import Kevin Jones.

“San Miguel is one of the teams to beat this conference. We were very lucky to get past by them in the all-Filipino semis,” said Guiao.

“I’m sure they are aching to get back at us with an even stronger lineup. We need to play at the highest level all game long to stay with them,” Guiao added.

The RoS coach said import match-up will be a big factor, pointing out they have to hold down Jones for them to have a chance against the Beermen.

Curiously, San Miguel lost its last game after ditching Josh Boone in favor of Jones.

Jones produced 35 points and 13 rebounds but those numbers were not enough to save the Beermen from falling to a 99-107 loss to the Talk n Text Tropang Texters Friday.

San Miguel Beer currently shares third spot with Meralco at 2-1 while Rain or Shine is at sixth at 1-1.

Meanwhile, the PBA yesterday approved a trade which sent veteran Enrico Villanueva and another player from Globalport to Air21 in exchange for Ronnie Matias and Carlo Sharma.