CONVERGE and Rain or Shine kick off the PBA Commissioner's Cup playoffs at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with each combatant bracing for the distinct possibility of going through a hard-fought best-of-three series.
Foremost among those who look forward to a grueling affair despite his third-seeded side ranked higher than the No. 6 Elasto Painters is FiberXers acting coach Franco Atienza.
"When you go to the playoffs, kung ano man na-achieve mo nu'ng eliminations wala na iyon kasi pagdating sa playoffs nag-iiba na teams, mas lalong tumataas ang level ng kumpetisyon," said Atienza.
"Alam din naman natin ang kalibre ni (Rain or Shine) coach Yeng (Guiao), very smart," added Atienza. "Isa pa, before we forget, Rain or Shine is one of the hottest teams at the start of the eliminations. Medyo may mga hindi sila nakuhang games pero close iyon. So kung ano man placing nila ngayon, hindi iyon representative of how good a team they are."
The respect is mutual, as far as Guiao is concerned. "Ang laki ng inilakas ng Converge," he said, specifically citing FiberXers rookies Justine Baltazar and Jordan Heading as well as import Cheick Diallo.
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"Magandang addition sa kanila si Balty, magandang addition sa kanila si Heading. Tapos 'yung import nila terno sa inilalaro nila," added Guiao.
"I think Converge could have easily made first or second also so parang ang kalaban namin 1 and 2 rin. Kaya lang, best-of-three (series). Hindi kami agrabyado. Ang problema lang namin ngayon paano naming tatalunin ng dalawang beses 'yung Converge."
Guiao spoke after Rain or Shine beat TNT, 106-96, last Friday to avoid falling into a knockout game for the No. 8 spot and the grit displayed by the E-Painters in that game is not lost on Atienza.
Not even Converge's 103-96 win in their lone elimination round meeting, when his FiberXers had to overcome an early 17-point deficit before banking mostly on Alec Stockton scoring 17 of his 21 points in the fourth period, could steer Atienza away from his cautious approach.
"I'm sure na kahit nanalo kami noon, mas ihahanda pa niya (Guiao) ang team niya," stressed Atienza.
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"They are a running team, a three-point shooting team and talagang ang mga guards nila will give us problems. So we need to control that, their running game, their outside sniping," added Atienza.
"Hopefully, we get our bearings right. The plan is to start better than what we did nu'ng eliminations meeting namin. Best-of-three ito pero we're looking at Game 1 muna. We've prepared hard for them and we relish the competition." (NC)
