Paint it perfect: Elasto Painters eye 4-0; Beermen parade new import

Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5:15 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs Blackwater

7:30 p.m. — San Miguel Beer vs Macau

Rain or Shine puts its unbeaten record and continued hold of the solo lead on the line against formidable Blackwater in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The still-perfect Elasto Painters welcome the return of import Jaylen Johnson from a one-game suspension as they hunt for a fourth straight win in the curtain-slated 5:15 p.m.

But it won’t be a walk in the park, not against a Bossing side enjoying a rebirth after a bad start with an efficient bulldozer of a replacement reinforcement in Rob Upshaw.

Rain or Shine has won its first three outings, including a 109-102 upset over erstwhile undefeated Meralco last Friday, despite playing with an all-Filipino lineup with Johnson serving his ban for his involvement in a fistfight with TNT’s Glenn Khobuntin.

Johnson, who is averaging 31 points, 16.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, will have tough work in his return especially matching up against the burly 7-footer Upshaw.

Upshaw debuted with 35 points, 13 rebounds and six assists while teaming up with hot-shooting Sedrick Barefield as Blackwater ended a two-game slide with a 97-91 win over Magnolia more than a week ago.

The Bossing carry a 1-2 record tied with San Miguel Beer, which will face the winless guest team Macau in the main-game at 7:30 p.m. with a new import after letting go of Marcus Lee.

Despite a renewed spirit following a breakthrough win, Blackwater head coach Jeff Cariaso reminds his team that the Elasto Painters are still one of the teams to beat and getting past the Yeng Guiao-mentored squad will take a collective effort.

“We know how tough they are, we know how quick they are,” Cariaso said.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge for us.”

Aside from Barefield, also expected to perform for the Blackwater locals are Abu Tratter, Christian David, BJ Andrade, RK Ilagan and David Murrell although they should be severely tested by the likes of Adrian Nocum, Jhonard Clarito, Felix Lemetti, Caelan Tiongson and Luis Villegas.

Meanwhile, the Beermen led by nine-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo are out to rebound from a 92-118 beating at the hands of defending champion TNT Tropang 5G and its 7-foot-3 import Bol Bol last Saturday.

“We’ll bounce back for sure. There’s still a long way to go and we still have lots of games to play. So, we’ll try to rebound in the next game,” said Fajardo, who had 15 points and 20 rebounds in the previous outing.

San Miguel Beer will also parade a new import in 7-foot-1 Justin Patton.

Patton was the 16th overall pick of the Chicago Bulls in the 2017 NBA Draft before playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2017 to 2018, Philadelphia 76ers from 2018 to 2019, and Oklahoma City Thunder in 2020. He spent most of his career playing in the NBA G League.

The Black Knights, on the other hand, are still searching for a first win in the PBA after dropping all four of their starts as the lone winless team.