Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao doesn’t see the need to press the panic button just yet even as his team has already suffered two consecutive losses in the conference.

The fiery coach remained confident in their bid to make it into the playoffs but stressed the need for his team to arrest the slide and stop the bleeding.

And they have to do it against the league-pacing NorthPort Batang Pier who, likewise, are looking to get back on the winning track when they collide in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Thursday, Jan. 16, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Tip off of the clash is at 5 p.m. which will be followed by the clash between Magnolia and Phoenix at 7:30 p.m.“Test pa rin naman ito. It’s still a character test for us as tingin ko very manageable as long we can arrest our losing skid early I think okay pa rin naman,” said Guiao as the 103-96 loss to Converge sent ROS to the seventh spot after staying at second place for weeks.

“I’m still confident. I'm still confident naman, mayroon talagang dadaan na parang roller coaster na situation. Nung una nanalo kami I've been seeing good signs pero nung natatalo ka naman you see bad signs so it’s trying to look for a balance in how to get our momentum back,” he added .

Deon Thompson remained a solid import for ROS but the team seemed to be lacking in some areas particularly in their offensive execution – something that was evident in their last two losses including the narrow 91-93 defeat at the hand of the Phoenix Fuel Masters.

In order to arrest the slide, the locals should break out of the slump since Jhonard Clarito was the lone bright spot with 24 points last time out. Usual contributors like Adrian Nocum and Andrei Caracut were limited to just seven and six points, respectively.

A win for ROS (5-3) could easily catapult it back to the upper half of the standings especially with teams like Hong Kong, Ginebra, and Meralco figuring on a 6-3 logjam at the middle of the standings.

“Sabi ko nga huwag muna nating isipin yung placings, ang isipin lang muna yung magic number para safe ka. So doon lang muna kami naka-focus,” said the veteran coach who insists on focusing on making it to the playoffs first.

“First things first. Get yourself into the playoffs first, and then see where you are at that point, kung ano yung best finish mo after that,” he added.

Easier said than done, however, with NorthPort surely raring to get back on track after getting a harsh reality check, 111-94 from a complete Meralco squad.