Elite face acid test vs Beermen

MANILA, Philippines — Hot-starting Blackwater Elite seek to further boost their stock in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup as they gun for a league-leading sixth victory against a groping-for-form San Miguel Beer team today at the MOA Arena.

The Elite are off to a flying start in the import-flavored conference, winning five of their first six outings, including a 98-92 beating of Rain or Shine and a franchise-record 26-point demolition of NLEX (132-106) to gain confidence heading to their 4:30 p.m. test against the Beermen (0-2), who have struggled after their Philippine Cup conquest.

“It’s a great string of wins for us, the back-to-back giving us momentum going to the San Miguel game. We’ll prepare hard and hopefully we could limit their players because we know how mighty San Miguel is,” said Elite coach Aries Dimaunahan.

The first-year mentor cautioned his wards againt complacency in the midst of their early success, never forgetting their sad experience in the 2018 Governors’ Cup.

“We remind the guys it happened before, we started 4-0 some conference back but we somehow let up, lost focus, celebrated early and became complacent,” Dimaunahan said, referring to the franchise’s slide that eventually led to their fall. 

“We talked about it, we can’t let that happen again, we have to learn from that mistake,” he added.

The Beermen are hard-pressed to get into the win column after dropping their first two assignments by double digits, 88-121 to NorthPort and 97-110 to TNT.

“It’s only the start of the conference and there are enough games for us to recover. But if we’re going to make our move, the sooner the better because it will be hard to play catch-up, especially in this tournament where everybody powered up and got good imports,” said SMB coach Leo Austria, hoping his charges get their rhythm fast.

Like San Miguel, winless squads Magnolia (0-2) and NLEX (0-5) aim for a breakthrough as they clash at 7 p.m.

“It’s important we don’t fall to a deeper hole,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero, who expects more from James Farr after their new import struggled in their 99-102 loss to NorthPort pirmarily due to jetlag.

 “It will be difficult if we go 0-3 because last time we had that record (in the last Phl Cup), we had a hard time (catching up). It’s not the time to panic but we have to start winning now. We’ll try again (against NLEX),” added Victolero.

The Road Warriors finalized a three-team trade with TNT and NorthPort last week so they can get KaTropa guard Jericho Cruz and shore up a backcourt depleted by the absence of Kiefer Ravena (Fiba suspension) and Kevin Alas (ACL).

“We need all the help we can get and we’re hoping Jericho can supply that,” said assistant coach Jojo Lastimosa, pinch-hitting while coach Yeng Guiao is on vacation. “His scoring, playmaking and leadership quality will certainly be of help.”

Notes: Barely two weeks since the incident between TNT import Terrence Jones and Phoenix’s Calvin Abueva that led to the latter’s indefinite suspension, Jones figured in another heated moment with Ginebra’s LA Tenorio. Jones clipped Tenorio hard on his shoulder and was slapped a flagrant penalty one a few minutes after what he claimed was a “punch” thrown at his midsection by Tenorio. The Ginebra guard, for his part, said it was in retaliation for a similar hit to the stomach he got from Jones. “I just had to be aggressive,” Jones said of his hard foul on Tenorio. “I felt he kinda punched me in the stomach beforehand and they (referees) didn’t call that.” Tenorio insisted he just reacted. “I’m going to admit my action. But they (PBA) should also look at what he did to me that triggered by action,” he said. Sanctions may be meted out after a review of the game video.”It’s up to the PBA. I’ll take full responsibility for my action but I hope it’s fair; they should look at both sides and what he did to me beforehand,” said Tenorio.