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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Battle of the undefeated: ROS, Meralco stake clean slates

Battle of the undefeated: ROS, Meralco stake clean slates

Published Mar 26, 2026 02:57 pm

At A Glance

  • It's a battle between two undefeated teams as Rain or Shine and Meralco tangle in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, March 27.

It’s a battle between two undefeated teams as Rain or Shine and Meralco tangle in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, March 27.

Both with a 2-0 record, the two squads are hoping to pick up their third win at the end of their showdown scheduled at 5:15 p.m.

Quickly following suit is the clash between Barangay Ginebra and NLEX in the second game at 7:30 p.m.

The Elasto Painters, however, will have to try to win their third game without their import Jaylen Johnson who was slapped with a P50,000 fine and a game suspension after getting into a fistfight against Glen Khobuntin in their last game.

While head coach Yeng Guiao has an able crew capable of holding their own, Johnson’s absence should leave a gaping hole in the middle for Rain or Shine especially that they are up against Meralco’s 7-foot import Marvin Jones.

ROS may be used to playing against taller imports, evident with how they played against Bol Bol in their last game — the big men drawing the import away from the basket with their three-point shooting or putting a quicker guard against the bigs on switches — but it is an entirely different story on the defensive end.

Pressure should be on the shoulders of guys like Leonard Santillan, Beau Belga and Luis Villegas to clog the paint against Jones. ROS, however, still has the likes of CJ Cansino, Chris Newsome, Chris Banchero and Jason Brickman to worry about.

The Elasto Painters, to be fair, are not lacking with talent with Gian Mamuyac, Adrian Nocum, Jhonard Clarito and Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti all capable of contributing.

Meanwhile in the second game, the Kings are also gunning to protect their clean record although they are only playing their second game so far in the mid-season conference.

Ginebra went off to a roaring start and mauled Macau, 110-93 even without star guard Scottie Thompson. But NLEX is surely not a pushover, especially with Robert Bolick and import Cady Lalanne leading the charge.

Lalanne, however, will be up against Justin Brownlee, the long considered benchmark for imports in the PBA.

Related Tags

PBA Meralco Bolts Rain or Shine PBA Commissioner\'s Cup
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