The Rain or Shine Elastopainters is scheduled for a head-to-head game against the Blackwater Bossing at 4:30 PM on February 12, 2023 live from the SM Mall of Asia Arena at Pasay City, Metro Manila.
The Elastopainters are itching to break the bad spell and looking forward to snagging their first victory this conference while the Bossing aims to end their three-game losing skid.
Rain or Shine will be parading a new import this afternoon as they replaced Michael Qualls with Greg Smith II, who made some stints with the Blackwater Elite (now Bossing) during the 2017 and the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup.
Looking at the stat sheets, Qualls really didn’t play that badly where he logged 26.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and a steal in their first four outings yet ROS head coach Yeng Guiao saw his lack of chemistry with his teammates led to the parting ways decision.
With regards to Blackwater, they see this as an opportunity as they expect that the newly acquired reinforcement of their today’s opponent may require time for to adjust with his new comrades at the same time to Guiao’s basketball philosophy.
“‘Yun ang advantage namin sana,” said Bossing’s head coach Ariel Vanguardia. “Kasi iyun din naging advantage ng Terrafirma sa amin, na ‘yung import nila naka-adjust na rin dito pero ‘yung sa amin hindi pa masyado. Sana kabila naman nag-a-adjust pa lang this time.”
Indeed Blackwater’s new import showcased his skills against the Terrafirma Dyip just a few days ago as he delivered a stellar performance in his PBA debut as he delivered 55 points and 14 rebounds still went short of breaking their earlier back-to-back losses. Apart from the upside of Troy Williams, there are areas they need to address especially on his outside shooting and committing errors plus trusting his teammates.
“Nag-adjust lang ako ng konti sa import. Mahiyain pang pumasa, e,” said Vanguardia.
Likewise, part of the Bossing head coach’s strategies to improve their odds of taking the victory in the opening game of PBA Sunday is to limit the scoring of Rain or Shine locals.
“Kailangan wala silang local na maka-20 points and ‘yung import nila specialty noon depensa kaya siguradong kukunin din import namin,” Vanguardia said. “So kailangan ready mga locals ko and ‘yung import namin would go to his strength na hindi outside shooting kundi attacking the basket.”