Rain or Shine tries to squeeze out of a rut as it collides with Alaska in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The game is set at 7 p.m. with the Elasto Painters (0-2) targeting to barge into the win column against the Aces (3-1), who will try to brush off rust from a one-month break and a 101-109 loss to Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.
In the first game, Magnolia (4-1) tries to make it three in a row when it battles hapless Columbian Dyip (0-6) at 4:30 p.m.
Rain or Shine, which sorely missed the services of its key players who represented the country in previous international campaigns, started on the wrong foot in the season-ending conference with two early setbacks.
The team’s recent loss to the Hotshots, 76-92, showed the team’s lack of chemistry, according to Head Coach Caloy Garcia.
“I told my players from the beginning of the game that they were not following instructions, especially offensively,” Garcia said. “We lacked ball movement, we just turned the ball over too much, and there was no effort on defense.”
The Elasto Painters committed 22 errors, which the Hotshots translated to 17 points.
Also, there wasn’t much action from import J’Nathan Bullock, who just had 15 points and 10 rebounds in almost 38 minutes of action.
Among the locals, Gabe Norwood provided support off the bench with his 12 points and four rebounds.
Alaska, on the other hand, suffered its first loss to Barangay Ginebra on September 2, just days before the league took a break to pave way for the national team’s stint in two Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifier games.