It's an exciting duel of rallying teams as Magnolia and Rain or Shine duke it out Wednesday in the PBA Governors' Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The Hotshots seek a fourth straight win and sixth spot in the leaderboard at 4-3 while the Elasto Painters eye a third win in a row to improve their position in the Top 8 as they clash at 5:45 p.m.
Both are hot on trail of the early tournament leaders, following a resurgence with their import replacements.
From 0-3, the Hotshots have made a big turnaround, going 3-0 with Antonio Hester. The Elasto Painters also drew inspiration from new import Greg Smith, winning the last two outings, including the last one even with an all-Filipino crew.
And having secured a clearance from his former club in the Dominican Republic, Smith will be back for this interesting match with Hester and the Hotshots.
Their 120-118 nail-biter over the Terrafirma Dyip sans Smith is definitely a huge morale-boost for the Elasto Painters.
Sponsored content: "The guys stepped up. Alam namin dehado kami so this was really a good experience in terms of developing them mentally and making them learn to cope with adverse situations," said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.
Magnolia coach Chito Victolero braces for a battle.
"It's going to be a physical game. We need to grind it out on both ends of the floor," said Victolero.
"They (ROS) have a very good import. Actually nanalo nga yan nang walang import, may import pa kaya? We're playing well and pareho kaming naghahabol sa standings so we have to prepare hard for this game," said Victolero.
Victolero and his troops are determined to get going with hopes of finishing in the Top 4 at the end of the single-round-robin elims.
Sponsored content: The immediate goal is to break out of a tie at sixth place with Meralco (3-3) and close in on Barangay Ginebra (4-2).
The E-Painters, meanwhile, are barely inside the Top 8, half-game ahead of the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters (2-5) and the Terrafirma Dyip (2-5).
With the help of Smith who took over from Michael Qualls, the Elasto Painters broke through with a 122-117 win over the Blackwater Bossing before making it two in a row with their 120-118 nipping of the Dyip behind the heroics of Santi Santillan. (SB)
