Games today:

(Ynares Center-Antipolo)

5 p.m. — Meralco vs Blackwater

7:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs TNT

Rain or Shine aims to reach at least six wins to secure a spot in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup quarterfinals.

Sporting a 4-2 win-loss record tied with idle Barangay Ginebra in the upper half of the standings, a seat in the next round is within reach for the Elasto Painters.

Standing in Rain or Shine’s way from drawing closer to accomplishing its target is dangerous, albeit handicapped by the injury of top guard Rey Nambatac, grand slam-seeking TNT in a battle of red-hot teams today at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

“Right now, we’re on the right track in our chase for six wins to at least assure ourselves of quarterfinals (seat). We’re at 4-2 now. So, we need two more wins to reach that six wins, that’s our computation (to qualify). But we’re facing a tough team on Wednesday with TNT,” Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao said as he braced for a challenging battle at 7:30 p.m.

Rain or Shine has won back-to-back games since the return to full health of frontcourt muscles Keith Datu, Beau Belga and Caelan Tiongson.

The Elasto Painters are coming in brimming with confidence after beating erstwhile undefeated Magnolia, 119-105, last Sunday to snap the Hotshots’ six-game winning run.

Rain or Shine now sets its sights on ending the Tropang 5G’s three-game roll.

TNT parades a 3-3 card after turning the corner from a 0-3 start.

However, the Tropang 5G will miss the services of Nambatac for four to six weeks after sustaining a pulled groin injury in the Tropang 5G’s 101-84 crushing of defending champion Meralco last 11 May.

Nambatac, the Commissioner’s Cup Finals Most Valuable Player, is averaging 12.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the season-ending all-Filipino conference.

Rain or Shine will have a huge advantage with Namabatac out, but Guiao knows TNT remains potent with Calvin Oftana, RR Pogoy, Poy Erram and veteran guard Simon Enciso ready to step up.

“It’s a big break for us. We all know they don’t have Jayson (Castro). Rey played great during the (Commissioner’s Cup) championship but is now sidelined. But it happens to all teams. We just have to be ready,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Bolts try to clean up their act after two straight losses in a showdown with struggling Blackwater at 5 p.m.

Meralco is languishing at the bottom half of the standings with a 3-5 slate following a 92-117 loss to Magnolia.

It doesn’t help that the Bolts won’t have energy guy and hustle player Cliff Hodge, who will be serving a one-game suspension following a flagrant foul on Hotshots winger Zav Lucero.

“Cliff is a big part of what we do, he’s our anchor. So, hopefully (the other Bolts) can make up for it collectively,” Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said.