Basketball news: Elasto Painters stay unbeaten, race to quarters heats up

The Elasto Painters kept a firm hold of the top spot of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 124-117 victory over Terrafirma Dyip earlier this week.

It was the seventh win for Rain or Shine as they kept their unbeaten slate heading into the crucial stages of the elimination round.

The tournament format gives the top 4 teams a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals, making games more important as the league heads into the latter part of the elimination round.

Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao noted that while their offense has been clicking very well, it is actually their defense that they have improved on this conference.

The entry of versatile import Jaylen Johnson has also given the team a huge boost as they now have a reliable center that can also score from the outside.

NLEX overcomes Meralco challenge

With NLEX and Meralco tied with a 5-1 win-loss card entering the game, a classic match that could go down the wire was expected and the game did not disappoint.

After Meralco took a 17-point lead, NLEX stormed back in the nick of time and managed to overcome the Bolts with key three-pointers down the stretch.

Robert Bolick and LJay Gonzales turned out to be the heroes for the Road Warriors as they stepped up big time in the closing seconds of regulation and overtime.

Bolick sent the game into overtime with his three-pointer while Gonzalez hit the winning triple to clinch their sixth victory.

It was a tough loss for the Bolts as they were in command of the game and held a six-point advantage with one minute and 20 seconds remaining in regulation. However, their defense failed to hold the fort and allowed the Road Warriors to seize the win in overtime.

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Ginebra stays within striking distance of leaders

Barangay Ginebra is slowly but surely getting back into the groove with Justin Brownlee again at the forefront of the team’s campaign.

The Gin Kings registered back-to-back wins over Magnolia and Phoenix for their fourth win in six games. They are still outside of the Top 4 but within striking distance of the leaders and have enough time to catch up as they are only halfway through their schedule in the conference.

In their 109-96 victory over Phoenix, Brownlee flashed his deadly form anew to lead the team with a huge run that took the fight out of their opponents in the final period.

Beermen bring back familiar face

The San Miguel Beermen, winners of the last two Philippine Cup titles, find themselves in search for a new import again after Justin Patton went AWOL in their last game against Magnolia, reports said.

With Patton unable to play, the Beermen immediately moved on and signed up former import Bennie Boatwright, who led the team to the title in 2024.

Boatwright is coming off a stint in South Korea and fans of the squad are hoping he will bring the same deadly shooting form inside and outside to salvage the team’s campaign.

The Beermen are currently in the lower half of the standings with only three wins to show from seven games.

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