Sports: Time for Reckoning in Dubai
Three teams in Rain or Shine, Barako Bull and Barangay Ginebra will try to erase the stigma of their respective bitter losses against separate foes last week when they tangle at the Al-Shabab Gym in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on the 23rd and on the 24th of this month in the first Philippine Basketball Association road game for the season, internationally speaking.
The still winless Elasto Painters (0-2) will meet the Energy (1-2) on Thursday while the following day, Rain or Shine will battle Ginebra (1-1) this Friday in a pair of PBA games aimed at promoting Asia’s oldest professional caging in the Middle East while at the same time, providing basketball entertainment to our Filipino overseas foreign workers in Dubai.
Coach Yeng Guiao’s wards are hugging the bottom end of the 10-team standings following a two-game skid against Alaska (2-1) in a 109-102 defeat last February 12 and another close 122-120 setback versus the Powerade Tigers (1-0) five days later.
Meanwhile, Barako Bull lost two in a row following the Energy’s 98-78 thumping of the Aces on opening day (February 10) in yielding to B-Meg, 88-86, last February 15 followed by a 97-88 loss at the hands of sister team Air21 (1-0) in last Sunday’s opening encounter at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
On the other hand, the crowd favorites lost to Alaska by two on LA Tenorio’s two treys in the waning seconds of that particular out-of-town duel in Lucena City last Saturday including a rare four-point play for the Aces top sentinel inside the last 21 seconds of that close meeting.
This after the Kings won over sister team Petron, 84-82, last February 12 over at the Smart Araneta Coliseum behind Jayjay Helterbrand’s buzzer-beater of a shot over the outstretched arms of Blaze Boosters import Nick Fazekas. Petron (1-2), however, won over the erstwhile unbeaten Llamados (2-1) in last Sunday’s main match to the tune of an 84-77 beating.
Thus, reigning Commissioner’s Cup champion Talk ‘N Text, Powerade and Air21 remain the only unbeaten teams so far with identical 1-0 win-loss records for a share of the early lead in the shortened Second Conference which features reinforcements of unlimited height. TNT won over sister team Meralco (1-2) via a 102-96 overtime triumph last week.
As for the Express of mentor Franz Pumaren, Air21 (formerly Shopinas.com) finally won their first game in the professional league by beating Barako Bull and after losing all their 14 elimination round assignments in the Philippine Cup, a very forgettable stint indeed for the Lina Group quintet. Former Smart Gilas naturalized player Marcus Douthit had 16 points in his debut for Air21 as an import.
Air21 was led by former Sta Lucia/Meralco forward Nelbert Omolon with his 17 markers while former Bolts teammate Mark Isip added 10 for the Express. Ditto with sophomore RJ Jazul and rookie James Sena, two of the better offensive options for the Express who added 15 and 13 points, respectively, in a winning cause for the former Shopinas.com quintet.
Back to the Dubai joust, Rain or Shine will try to secure win No. 1 in UAE against the Energy first and versus the Kings the following day although the Elasto Painters are still in a recovery stage following those twin setbacks with prolific import Duke Crews averaging 28.5 points in the pair of defeats for the Asian Coatings franchise in this conference so far.
He’ll be up against the Energy’s DerMarr Johnson (25.7 ppg in 3 games) and Ginebra’s former Best Import awardee and current reinforcement in the gangling Chris Alexander who had a so-so performance against Alaska in Lucena City (7 points, 24 rebounds) in 42 minutes. Another loss by the Kings might compel Ginebra management to look for another import though.
As observed, the Elasto Painters will have to squeeze the best from prized rookie Paul Lee who’s been limited to 9.5 ppg in two outings so far in order to barge into the win column by winning against Barako Bull and Ginebra while for the Energy, players like Ronald Tubid, Danny Seigle and Chico Lanete must likewise rise to the occasion for the team to remain consistent.
For the Kings, Coach Siot Tanquingcen will have to look for a younger and more agile import after their Dubai sojourn, win or loss, for Ginebra to once again advance into the Commissioner’s Cup finals after losing their conference finals meeting versus eventual winner TNT last season now that the team has Kerby Raymundo, Allein Maliksi, Dylan Ababou and Rico Maeirhofer at its disposal.*
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