Converge wary of Terrafirma

Converge and Rain or Shine hunt for rebound wins and the chance to firm up their position in the quarterfinal race against separate foes in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup today at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The FiberXers open the double-header playdate at 5 p.m. against nose-diving Terrafirma while the Elasto Painters square off with barely-surviving Phoenix at 7:30 p.m.

Converge is marching in the first of its last two elimination round assignments.

Carrying a 5-4 win-loss record, a spot in the next round is within reach of the FiberXers. Another victory will assure Converge of at least a playoff for a quarters berth.

But playing a team with nothing to lose and just hoping to score a spoiler to end a seven-game slide could be dangerous.

“We are preparing for the best Terrafirma could offer. We know they’re at the bottom part of the standings but still they have the materials... so we can’t be complacent,” FiberXers coach Franco Atienza said.

Converge, despite having the height advantage with twin towers Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar, lost two of its last three games including an 83-88 loss to NLEX last Friday.

“They’ve prepared well against our two Justins so we need to solve that. It’s a case of our strength that has become our Achilles heel,” Atienza noted.

“We need to find a way on how we can get some sort of advantage other than mostly relying on them, since other teams have checked that. We saw that when we lost to Ginebra, against NLEX, we need to find another way to gain advantage.”

The Dyip languishing at 1-7 slate tied with Blackwater at the bottom of the standings are practically out of the quarters contention. All they want now is to end an embarrassing slump.

Meanwhile, Rain or Shine eyes a turnaround from a 103-111 loss to depleted but precision-sniping TNT last 21 May that dragged the squad to a 4-3 slate tied with its tormentor.

Sliding down to fifth to sixth place, the Elasto Painters will need to collect more wins to barge into the Top 4 to earn a quarters twice-to-beat advantage.

However, the Fuel Masters will be throwing everything they have to breathe new life into their flickering playoffs hopes.

Phoenix is in ninth place with a 2-5 but can still make it to the next round if it sweeps its last four starts.

Another loss could spell doom for the Fuel Masters in such a tight race to the quarters. Phoenix dropped back-to-back games against San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra.