FOUR teams hope to shift gears from a losing spell to a winning run in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Racing for survival halfway through the All-Filipino tournament, Rain or Shine and NLEX collide at 4:30 p.m., while Barangay Ginebra San Miguel looks to find the path into the winning column against skidding Phoenix at 7 p.m.
The Elasto Painters are on the losing end after a 94-98 setback from the Kia Picanto last Saturday.
Rain or Shine has lost three of five games, putting the team in a tie for sixth to 11th places with GlobalPort, Meralco, Phoenix, Blackwater and its opponent, NLEX.
After a promising 2-0 start, the Road Warriors on a three-game losing streak—the most recent against defending champion San Miguel Beer, 98-109, last week.
The two teams will play without their prominent bigs—Raymond Almazan and Michael Mirando, who are serving one-game suspensions.
Almazan had an altercation with Eric Camson in their game againsat Kia, while Miranda was slapped with the same punishment following his kick to San Miguel Beer’s combo guard Chris Ross in the groin area.
Left to carry the fight for the Elasto Painters are Chris Tiu, Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood, while the Road Warriors are expected to rely to their rookie sensation Kiefer Ravena, who has produced impressive norms of 18.4 points and seven assists.
The Gin Kings rolled to their second straight loss at the hand of the Alaska Aces, 83-97, last Saturday in Antipolo City. They sit at fifth place behind unblemished leader Beermen (5-0), Magnolia Hotshots (4-1), TNT KaTropa (3-2) and Alaska Aces (3-2).
Standing on their way is Phoenix, which also has the same fate of losing three straight times.