Independent teams and league dark horses Rain or Shine and Converge figure in a marquee duel that could make a huge mark in their respective campaigns in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday, Jan 14.

Both coming off defeats, the Elasto Painters and the FiberXers tangle with not only getting back on the winning track in mind but also the chance to boost their respective playoff bids at the end of the 7:30 p.m affair.

ROS is currently at the second spot of the standings with a 5-2 record while Converge is not too far behind with 6-3 in a share of fourth to fifth spots.

Raising the curtain to the interesting duel is an equally crucial tiff between the league-leading NorthPort and Philippine Cup champion Meralco in the first offering at 5 p.m.

While their hot five-game winning streak came to a halt last Saturday, Jan. 11, following a narrow 91-93 loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters, the Elasto Painters have no time to sulk especially heading into a crucial two-game week which head coach Yeng Guiao deemed crucial to their Top 2 hopes.

“At some point talaga matatapos yung streak but kahit na natalo kami we are still in the good spot we have two big games coming up next week,  Tuesday and Thursday, so if we want to stay alive maybe for the top 2 rankings we should be able to win those two games,” said Guiao.

It should be a clash between some of the league’s up-and-coming players with guys like Andrei Caracut, Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito taking on the three-headed combo of Jordan Heading, Alec Stockton and Schonny Winston.

Of course, there’s also the big man battle between the seasoned Beau Belga and Keith Datu against the young but promising combination of Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar. 

The import matchup between Deon Thompson and Cheick Diallo should be an intriguing duel especially with the latter aiming to recover from his team’s narrow loss against TNT where Rondae Hollis-Jefferson drained the dagger turned around jumper over his defense

Over at the opening game, the Batang Pier, boasting an impressive 7-1 record, aim to solidify its place atop the standings against the Bolts (5-3) who are planning to move up from the middle of the pack and form a logjam with Eastern and Ginebra at the fourth spot of the standings.