RAIN or Shine and Powerade expressed eagerness to clash in the best-of-seven semifinal round of the 37th PBA Philippine Cup starting Jan. 4 at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Though relatively young and untested, the Elasto Painters are slightly favored because of their fifth place finish in the elims over the Tigers, who are seeded no. 8. Both won two straight games in the quarterfinals to clinch a semis seat.
“I’m looking at it as a good sign,” said Guiao, whose wards swept Barangay Ginebra, 2-0.
Powerade coach Bo Perasol is equally determine after pulling the rug from under over top seed B-Meg Llmados, who enjoyed twice-to-beat advantage.
“I would like to believe that we can match up well with Rain or Shine,” said Perasol.
No less than Guiao himself, who praised the Tigers for the upset win over the Llamados, that made them a giant killer.
“Powerade deserves to be in the semifinals. They worked hard for it. They were the underdogs but beat the odds. They can strike again if we let them be,” said Guiao.
“The way Gary David is playing, we have to find a way to ice those hot hands,” said Guiao of David who averaged 34.5 points in their two-game quarters upset over the Llamados.
Guiao will most likely alternate tough defenders Gabe Norwood and Jireh Ibanes on David, the Powerade’s top gun and the conference leading scorer with a 22.5-point clip.
Ibanes did a good job on David, holding him down to only 14 points when Rain or Shine escaped with 96-93 win over Powerade, in their elimination-round meeting last Oct. 9.
The awaited Jvee Casio-Paul Lee showdown didn’t happen then since the top pick was still nursing an injury. But this time both will finally meet head-on in their semifinal duel.
Both Casio and Lee show impressive averages going to the semis. Casio logs 11.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists an outing while Lee piles up 13.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
