Guiao Believes ROS Will make Phl Cup Finals

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao is convinced his team has what it takes to beat Powerade in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal showdown beginning Jan. 4 at the Cuneta Astrodome.

“I feel really good the way we’re playing. I think we can take on Powerade in a seven-game series,” said Guiao.

Guiao and his Elasto Painters have good reasons to be optimistic, on top of these was their swashbuckling ride spiked by their two-game sweep of the Barangay Ginebra Kings in their quarterfinals match-up.

The Elasto Painters are indeed upbeat and confident but will not throw caution in the air.

“You have to respect what Powerade has achieved. They’re peaking at the right time and we have to address their strength at the point guard and the wing positions,” said Guiao, not foolish to take the Tigers lightly.

The veteran bench chieftain stressed the Tigers can be very dangerous if not handled well.

He’s well aware of what Gary David can do. What makes him comfortable is having at his disposal defensive stoppers to throw at the Powerade hotshot.

“We have tall and quick players to match up with David,” said Guiao, referring to 6-foot-4 Gabe Norwood, 6-foot-1 guards Ryan Arana and Jireh Ibañez.

The RoS wing defenders did a good job on David, holding him down to 14 points as the Elasto Painters tamed the Tigers, 96-93, in their elimination-round meeting last Oct. 9.

Guiao believes his team can fare as well in the other match-ups.

Overall, Guiao is comfortable with the thought that the Elasto Painters have evolved to a fighting unit that can make the finals.

“It’s gratifying to see the team transform and acquire the toughness to perform at this level. The guys have settled down to embracing our system the same way the old Red Bull team embraced our system and team philosophy. Everyone is equal and there are no superstars,” said Guiao.

Rookie Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, JR Quinahan and Norwood are among the team’s lead lights, all four being in the top 24 in the league's stats race.

Chan leads the team in scoring with 15.5 points a game, Lee paces the squad in assists (4.5) and in steals (0.9), Quinahan is tops in rebounds (6.4) and in blocks (1.3) while Norwood has solid all-around norms of 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 0.9 steal and 0.4 block.

The team also boasts of the inside presence of Beau Belga, Larry Rodriguez and Jervy Cruz and the backcourt contribution of TY Tang.(pr)

PBA D-League Playoff Chase Resumes January 3

The chase for playoff berths in the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association D-League Aspirants' Cup resumes in earnest on January 3 with nine of the eleven competing teams still in contention for post-elims berths.

Three of the teams - pace-setting Cebuana Lhuillier (8-1), Freego Jeans (6-2) and Big Chill (6-3) are sure to make it while NLEX (5-1) is also practically there.

The Gems and Road Warriors, finalists in the inuagural D-League tournament earlier this year, collide on January 12 with possibly one outright semifinals berth on the line with the loser probably battling the Jeans Makers for the other outright spot if current form holds up.

The Superchargers hope to lock on to the second twice-to-beat quarterfinals edge but if Blackwater (3-3), RnW Pacific Pipes (4-3) or Boracay Rum (4-4) catch fire in January, Big Chill may have to go through a playoff to get that lofty placing.

PC Gilmore (2-5) and CafeFrance (2-5) both have an outside shot of making the Top Six but may need to win their remaining games. DUB Unlimited (1-7) and Cobra Energy Drink (1-8) are out of contention but could play the spoilers' role in the final six playdates.

Cebuana Lhuillier has been sizzling behind the heady performances of forward Vic Manuel and guards Terrence Romeo and ex-pro Jai Reyes and hope to get Kevin Alas back for the stretch run after the Letran guard spent several weeks in the US on a training trip.

NLEX has the core of the SEA Games gold medal winning team in its fold, with six members of the Sinag Pilipinas team in its fold as well as San Sebastian's frontline but the loss of sniper Roland Pascual (ACL) means Garvo Lanete and Chris Ellis have to step up their games alongside RR Garcia, Calvin Abueva and Clifford Hodge.

Freego Jeans also lost a vital cog when back-up guard Jer4ick Canada opted to turn pro overseas, leaving a huge gap behind star playmaker Lester Alvarez in the team's rotation though they finally have standout wingman Alex Nuyles healthy again to join Eric Camson, Janus Lozada and Bacon Austria.

Dark horse Big Chill needs consistent performances from Fil-Ams Alex Mallari, Keith Jensen and Elliot Tan as well as local workhorses Raffy Peyes, Jopher Custodio and Jessie Collado to go further in the tournament.(pr)