MANILA, Philippines — While many PBA observers expect a shootout and an exciting run-and-gun encounter between Powerade and Rain or Shine, questions arise on which team holds the advantage in their best-of-seven semifinal showdown in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Will Yeng Guiao’s coaching experience help the Elasto Painters? Or will Gary David’s scoring prowess be enough to lead the Tigers?
It appears that these two factors will decide the seven-game series with Game 1 set Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The experience of Guiao, who started coaching in the PBA in the late ‘80s with five championships, transformed Rain or Shine to one of the surprising contenders this conference, his third with the team after joining the franchise last season (Commissioner’s Cup).
“Coach Yeng has the edge experience-wise,” said Barako Bull mentor Junel Baculi, once an assistant to Guiao with Burger King/Air21 (now Shopinas.com). “But I think it’s still even since the two teams have players who can light it up every game.”
Guiao will be up against Bo Perasol of Powerade, who started coaching in the pro league in 2005 with FedEx/Air21, which he steered to the 2007 Fiesta Cup Finals where they lost to Ginebra in seven grueling games.
In late 2009, Perasol left Air21, which was then renamed Burger King with Guiao at the helm.
Perasol joined Coca-Cola, first as assistant coach to Kenneth Duremdes before finally taking over as coach. After several disappointing campaigns, Powerade finally made the playoffs this conference where the Tigers earned a quarterfinal slot.
As the No. 8 seed, they stunned top seed and twice-to-beat B-Meg to enter the semifinals for the first time in six years.
However, while Guiao enjoys an edge in experience, the Rain or Shine-Powerade series is almost equal man-for-man. One player though is capable of tilting the balance: 6-foot-3 David.
After averaging nearly 21 points in the eliminations, David elevated his scoring to 34.5 points in the series versus B-Meg.
source by Waylon Galvez, mb.com.ph
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