RAIN or Shine eyes a sweep of the first round of the PBA Governors' Cup eliminations as it tangles with San Miguel Beer at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Thursday.
The lone team with a shot at a perfect opening round, the Elasto Painters are determined to go for it, but are realistic they're to go through a tough trek versus June Mar Fajardo and his teammates.
And the Beermen could be a lot tougher than the usual, coming from back-to-back losses to the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the NLEX Road Warriors.
Nonetheless, the Elasto Painters are embracing the challenge, hoping to climb up to 5-0 in Group B as the Beermen look to check their skid and move up to 3-2.
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao is not to be carried away by their 4-0 start, saying the tough tests are yet to come.
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"Yung ibang teams, painit pa lang, late naghanda ng preseason. Makikita mo talaga ang galing nila towards the middle of the eliminations and towards the end," said Guiao.
"Maganda lang na nakikita na nananalo ka," added Guiao after his teams went 4-0 with a 116-99 blasting of the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters on Friday.
With that, the Elasto Painters equaled the best start in franchise history in the 2012 Governors' Cup - a tournament marking Rain or Shine's first rise to the mountaintop.
Victories over NLEX, Ginebra, Blackwater and Phoenix serve as a good head start for ROS in the fight for the four Group B spots to the quarters.
Group B top four face their Group A counterparts in a crossover matchups in the best-of-five quarterfinals.
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The Beermen currently share third spot with the Kings at 2-2, behind the Elasto Painters and the Road Warriors (3-2).
Coach Jorge Gallent and his troops are likely to be seething with determination to get back on track as they take on the E-Painters in their 7:30 p.m. tussle.
It marks the return of the tournament to "NAS" after a brief swing-back to the Big Dome.(SB)
