GLOBALPORT and NLEX collide in a battle of winless teams, while Rain or Shine and Phoenix try to regain their momentum in the last playing day before a Lenten break today in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Batang Pier (0-4) clash with the Road Warriors (0-5) at 4:15 p.m., while the Elasto Painters (3-2) and Fuel Masters (2-3) take the floor at 6 p.m.
“It’s a must-win for us to stay in the hunt for the playoffs,” GlobalPort Head Coach Franz Pumaren said. Terrence Romeo came out with a bout with the flu in GlobalPort’s first game in the conference and churned in a 20.67 points average in three games with 6.33 assists in 31 minutes of action.
But Romeo couldn’t tow GlobalPort to the win column. His last output, a 35-point, 13-of-18 performance against Blackwater, went to a waste as the Elite escaped with a 118-113 victory on Saturday.
Malcolm White, who replaced Sean Williams, also had monster numbers of 33 points and 17 rebounds, but his Elite counterpart, Greg Smith, did better with 40 points and 19 boards.
“I don’t think we have a problem scoring. We just got to be better defensively. That’s the main thing,” White said.
NLEX, on the other hand, just couldn’t get the job done. The team even blew away a 29-point lead to sister-team TNT five days ago for a 121-126 setback.