THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup goes on the road today with a twin bill set at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
Opening the festivities in the PBA south-of-Manila offering at 4:15 p.m. are GlobalPort Batang Pier and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, two teams coming off wins in their previous assignments and are looking to build on their respective quarterfinal push.
The night cap at 7 p.m. will see the top two-aspiring Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings go up against the Blackwater Elite, which are out to keep their campaign alive in the mid-season PBA tournament.
GlobalPort (3-6) paraded a new import and several new local player acquisitions in its last game which paid immediate dividends as it went on to beat the Meralco Bolts, 94-86.
Import Justin Harper, Batang Pier’s third reinforcement in the tournament after Sean Williams and Malcolm White, was impressive in his PBA debut, finishing with 30 points, nine rebounds and three blocks to lead his team to victory.
Also making their presence felt were Sean Anthony, Jonathan Grey and Bradwyn Guinto, who the team got in a mid-tournament trade recently.
Mr. Anthony had 17 points and eight boards in his GlobalPort debut while Mr. Guinto had eight points and seven rebounds. Mr. Grey, for his part, finished with three points, four rebounds and three assists.
Getting much-needed production from their new guys, Batang Pier coach Franz Pumaren could not hide his delight with the performance of their new players and the upside they have with the team moving forward.
“We have been going after Justin for a while now and good thing he finally agreed to join us. I always believe that we needed a scoring import in the tournament and that is what he is. He gives us another dimension,” said Mr. Pumaren of their latest import after their win.
“As far as our new acquisitions, I think they are the kind of players that GlobalPort needs right now. Sean, Jonathan and Bradwyn were part of my wish list at the start and I’m happy we got them,” the coach added.
A win today by the Batang Pier gives them four wins, enough to keep them alive in the tournament with still a game left to play.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS
GlobalPort’s opponent, Rain or Shine (5-4), for its part, is angling for back-to-back wins after halting a two-game skid in its previous game.
The Elasto Painters defeated Barangay Ginebra last time around, 118-112, that saw replacement import Duke Crews produce a huge double-double and the locals finishing the job.
Mr. Crews, who already suited up for Rain or Shine in the past, replaced Shawn Taggart and had 28 points and 22 rebounds in his PBA return.
Jericho Cruz, Jay Washington and James Yap added 19, 16 and 15 points, respectively, to help their team overcome a tough Barangay Ginebra team which got 38 points from its import Justin Brownlee.
In the event the Elasto Painters beat the Batang Pier, they assure themselves of a quarterfinal spot.
Meanwhile, in the first game, Barangay Ginebra (6-2) moves to put more legs in their top two-finish bid by beating Blackwater.
Currently at joint second spot with the San Miguel Beermen, the Kings are very much in the hunt to finish in the top two after the elimination round which would give them a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.
Blackwater (2-7), for its part, needs to win if it is to keep its slim hopes of advancing up.