PBA: CRUCIAL GAMES

by **Ginebra Tambayan** Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:29 am

PBA: CRUCIAL GAMES

By Waylon Galvez
Games Today (Smart-Araneta)
4:15 p.m. Shopinas.com vs Rain or Shine
6:30 p.m. Meralco vs Ginebra

Manila, Philippines – A piece of good news for fans of Meralco, Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra the three teams are assured of slots in the quarterfinals, and all remain in the hunt for twice-to-beat incentives going to the playoffs of the PBA Philippine Cup.

Their fates will take different paths though starting today when the Elasto Painters meet winless newcomer Shopinas.com at 4:15 p.m., while the Bolts and the Kings collide at 6:30 p.m. at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

With a 7-5 record, faltering Rain or Shine is looking to end a four-game losing skid that saw them plummet several rungs in the standings.

The last time Rain or Shine won was on Nov. 11 when it downed Barako Bull (93-81) before losing four straight games against Petron Blaze (90-80), defending champion Talk ‘N Text (106-104), B-Meg (102-100), and Barako Bull (106-102).

Currently tied on top are Petron (9-4) and TNT (8-3), followed by B-Meg (8-4).
The Painters defeated the Clickers in their first meeting (96-75) on Nov. 4. Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao nonetheless cautions his team against taking things lightly.
“We can’t take Shopinas for granted,“ said Guiao, whose team will play Alaska anew on Dec. 11.

“Our objective is simple: just break the losing streak. Then we prepare for the playoffs. This is the time to pick up our game or our confidence could suffer irreparable damage,“ Guiao added.

Shopinas.com continues to search for an ice-breaking win to avoid sharing an undistinguished all-time record of 13 straight losses posted by Great Taste Coffee and Country Fair in the 80s.

Another exciting match is the Meralco-Ginebra encounter, with the Bolts eyeing a repeat on the Kings after winning last Nov. 4 (93-87) where Mark Cardona dropped 25 points while Asi Taulava and Gabby Espinas had similar productions of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Both Ginebra and Meralco are coming off thrilling wins Friday night at the Big Dome, with the former beating Petron (91-89) and the Bolts edging Powerade (100-98).
The win improved Meralco’s record at 8-5.

Source: Tempo.com.ph