A battle of streaking teams Magnolia and Rain or Shine, both looking to move further up the standing, take center stage in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Tip-off of the showdown is at 5:45 p.m., with the Hotshots looking to extend their three-game winning streak while the Elasto Painters riding the momentum of their new-found hope after finally stringing back-to-back wins.
The enticing affair will come after the crucial match between NorthPort and Terrafirma in the first offering at 3 p.m., with the former now fighting for its dear life and the latter hoping to get back on track after dropping two straight games.
Magnolia, though, seemed to have finally rediscovered its old, deadly form after slowly climbing up the standings and now a contender for a playoff spot with three straight wins.
Import Antonio Hester, who remained undefeated ever since he joined the Hotshots, is surely raring for more as Magnolia also aims to climb to the top 4 spots which will merit a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Out to foil their plans, however, are the Elasto Painters who, likewise, are starting to find their chemistry especially after an all-Filipino crew spearheaded by Andrei Caracut, Rey Nambatac, Gabe Norwood and Leonard Santillan survived the Jordan Williams and Juami Tiongson-led Terrafirma, 120-118, last Thursday.
Head coach Yeng Guiao is hoping to have his import Greg Smith II back into his rotation after being forced to sit out the last game due to clearance issues with the last team he played for.
His contributions will be valuable for ROS especially that it is taking on a talented local crew of Magnolia that has the likes of Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, Jio Jalalon and Calvin Abueva.
Meanwhile in the opening game, NorthPort hopes to avoid falling into a 0-7 record in the standings which could put their playoff chances in great danger.
Not even the return of Robert Bolick and the import change in Kevin Murphy could help the Batang Pier pick up their first win in the season-ending conference in their last two games. Veteran Arwind Santos is set to make his conference debut – something that NorthPort mentor Bonnie Tan is hopeful to somehow breathe life to the team’s flickering hopes.