By JONAS TERRADO
Game Today
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7 p.m. –Ginebra vs Rain or Shine
(Ginebra leads series 1-0)
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel tries to repeat over Rain or Shine and takes a step closer toward a finals berth in Game 2 of their best-of-five PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra reasserted itself as the league’s hottest team Sunday, posting its eighth straight victory with a 102-89 rout of top seed Rain or Shine behind an all-around showing from import Justin Brownlee and an offensive outburst by veteran Jeff Chan.
But the Kings are hoping to play much sharper as they brace a big response from the Elasto Painters in the 7 p.m. match.
Japeth Aguilar remains day-to-day for Ginebra due to a swelling on his left Achilles that forced him to miss the series opener. Aguilar got injured during a looseball play with Meralco’s Chris Newsome during the quarterfinals.
Aguilar’s absence hardly mattered in Game 1 despite Greg Slaughter was left to deal mostly with the difficulty containing Rain or Shine import Reggie Johnson down low.
“After winning like that, I expect Rain or Shine to bounce back really hard,” said Slaughter. “We just got to be prepared and can’t let our guard down from the beginning of the game.”
Johnson, who had 30 points and 13 rebounds, remains unfazed despite the disappointing loss.
“We’ll make some adjustments. It’s Game 1 and I know you guys wanna make a big deal about it but we’re calm and we’re still confident in our locker room,” Johnson told reporters.
For Rain or Shine to bounce back, it will need another strong game from Johnson and James Yap, who made 10 of his 15 points in the third quarter when the Elasto Painters tried to mount a comeback from being down 18 in the first half.
The Elasto Painters will need to see Raymond Almazan play his usual game after failing to score a single point in 13 minutes.
Coach Caloy Garcia admitted being clueless with regards to Almazan’s disappearing act.
“I felt that he wasn’t focused enough in this game,” Garcia said.