THE Blackwater Elite stopped their losing skid yesterday, beating the Alaska Aces, 103-100, but not after having made to labor in the PBA Philippine Cup opening match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Playing catch-up for much of the contest, the Elite turned to a collective effort to rally back and win their first game in three outings to pad their record to 5-4 and fortify their place for a quarterfinal spot in the season-opening conference of the Philippine Basketball Association.

THE Rain or Shine Elastopainters padded their push for a top-two finish in the elimination round of the PBA Philippine Cup, beating the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters, 97-82, in their opening encounter at the Smart Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

Standing tough in the face of a resilient challenge from Phoenix, Rain or Shine fortified its hold of the second spot in the standings of the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) conference with the win.

Struggling to buy a bucket, Meralco fell to its sixth straight defeat, losing to Finals tormentor Ginebra, 83-72 Saturday in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup at University of San Agustin Gym in Ilo-ilo.

Shooting a measly 26-percent from the field, the Bolts further fell in danger of missing out the playoffs as the Gin Kings put on a stranglehold on defense.

Ginebra broke the game wide open and took a 14-point lead, 79-65, on a Japeth Aguilar jumper with 1:59 left in the third period.

WANG'S  Ballclub is bringing in multi-titled coach Loreto “Ato” Tolentino to  bolster its chances in  the coming 2017 PBA Developmental  League.

Tolentino, one of the countrys most successful coaches in the  collegiate  scene,  will join  the coaching  staff as its  chief consultant in  the tournament  which kicks off on Jan. 17.

Tolentino, now 70,  will sit on  the bench alongside team  owner-manager   Alex Wang  and coach  Pablo Lucas.

THE much-anticipated battle between the top two teams finally takes place as sizzling San Miguel Beer and Rain or Shine collide in a titanic clash in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.

Winners of six straight, the top-ranked Beermen (7-1) are on a roll and they plan on continuing their surge, but the second-running Elasto Painters (5-2) are likewise on a streak.

Meralco coach Norman Black offered no excuses following his side’s 101-86 loss to San Miguel on Wednesday.

“Bad game. That’s all I can really tell you. We got off to a horrible start. We couldn’t defend the perimeter. We couldn’t defend the paint. We got down by 30,” he said.

THE Alaska Aces and the Star Hotshots, tied at seventh, battle out of their deadlock while cellar dwelling teams Meralco Bolts and Mahindra FloodBuster fight for survival.

These four teams in the lower half of the team standings plunge into action with a sense of urgency as the homestretch of the elimination round in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup approaches.

WHAT seemingly was a lost cause for the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters yesterday proved otherwise as they rallied back from 26 points down to pull the rug from under the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 101-99, to nail their second straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup.

Left for dead after being buried by 26 markers early in the fourth period, Phoenix rose as the quarter progressed, behind the efforts of Mark Borboran and Cyrus Baguio, to turn things around en route to the win, their second straight in the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tournament to take its record to 4-3 for joint fourth place.