Justine Baltazar (No. 19) and Justin Arana (No. 15) are coming off double-doubles. —PBA IMAGES
The twin tower combination of Justin Arana and rookie Justine Baltazar is expected to lead Converge’s bid to rise up the PBA Philippine Cup standings.
That combo also poses as a big headache for Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao as his Elasto Painters face Converge at 5 p.m. at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, their first meeting since the Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
“Maybe we can survive Meralco without our bigs,” Guiao said as his team looks to build on its 128-116 romp of defending champion Meralco three nights earlier. “But we will probably not survive Converge without our bigs.”
Arana and Baltazar will both be coming off strong performances as each produced a double-double in the 109-94 defeat of Grand Slam-seeking TNT, also last Sunday at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Arana finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Baltazar had 21 and 12 rebounds as the FiberXers improved to 3-2 in the eliminations.
Rain or Shine is missing veteran Beau Belga, who is dealing with vertigo, and Keith Datu, who missed the last two games due to an injured calf.
Rookie Caelan Tiongson also missed Sunday’s match because of back spasms, which made Guiao give heavy minutes to veteran Gabe Norwood, plus converting power forward Santi Santillan to play the pivot.
Both responded with key contributions against Meralco, with Santillan, the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week, firing 27 points.
Gentleman’s sweep
Rain or Shine beat Converge in the deciding third game of their Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal series last February, a stinging setback that is not lost on Baltazar.
“It was really a bitter pill to swallow when Rain or Shine knocked us out last conference,” Baltazar said in Filipino. “We need to get back at them.”
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra, smarting from Friday’s 104-93 loss to San Miguel Beer, battles NorthPort in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
Coach Tim Cone is looking for an improved showing from his Gin Kings, who will take on the Batang Pier since their gentleman’s sweep of the Commissioner’s Cup semis. Ginebra beat NorthPort, 4-1, in a one-sided affair.
Ginebra is 1-1 this conference as Cone felt embarrassed by the way his team came out against San Miguel, which led by a big margin.
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The Kings, meanwhile, made one notable change as it placed longtime leader LA Tenorio on the unrestricted free agent with rights to salary list in order to place young Jayson David on the active roster. INQ
