Rain or Shine and Meralco, two teams looking to rise to contender status, aim for a winning start in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup when they lock horns on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

With both teams adding valuable pieces during the offseason, the Bolts and the Elasto Painters are looking to test the new-found firepower in the 8 p.m. collision which will come after an equally entertaining match between Blackwater and Converge in the opening game at 4 p.m.

Both teams already got a glimpse of each other’s potential when ROS came out victorious over Meralco, 94-81, in a preseason exhibition game in Bacolod City just last month.

Of course, that cannot fully gauge the abilities of both squads especially with the Bolts parading its import Suleiman Braimoh for the first time as replacement to original choice Feron Hunt who failed to impress during the team’s stint in a tournament in Doha.

Braimoh is expected to join hands with local stars Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi and Aaron Black to give head coach Luigi Trillo a winning debut.

Easier said than done, however, especially against an Elasto Painters side brimming with young talents looking ripe for at least a playoff push in this conference especially with NBA veteran DaJuan Summers leading the charge.

Andrei Caracut, Anton Asistio, Rey Nambatac and Santi Santillan are poised to show the way for the coach Yeng Guiao-mentored squad while veterans Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga and James Yap look to provide the leadership to the team.

Also an interesting sidelight to the match is the clash between top rookie big men in the Bolts’ Brandon Bates and the E-Painters’ Keith Datu.

Meanwhile, Blackwater is also hoping to give new head coach Jeff Cariaso a winning start against his former team Converge.

Troy Rosario, Jvee Casio and Baser Amer are hoping to sustain the Bossing impressive run in the PBA on Tour with Puerto Rican import Chris Ortiz. 

Looking to put a stop are the FiberXers bannered by returning import Tom Vodanovich alongside highly-touted rookie Schonny Winston, Alec Stockton, Jerrick Balanza and last season’s Rookie of the Year Justin Arana.