Painters Must Shine In Dubai Against Barako Bull, Gin Fives

Game Thursday
(Al-Shabab Sports Club Dubai, UAE )
8 p.m. - Barako Bull vs Rain or Shine

Game Friday
(Al-Shabab Sports Club Dubai, UAE )
8 p.m. - Rain or Shine vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines - With a shortened elimination round, Rain or Shine, a semifinalist in the previous Philippine Cup, must start winning if it intends to advance to the playoff round of the PBA Commissioner's Cup.

The Elasto Painters will try to stop a two-game skid and get their first victory when they play a pair of out-of-the-country games starting Thursday with a match up against the unpredictable Barako Bull Energy at the Al-Shabab Sports Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Game time is set at 8 p.m. (12 midnight in Manila).

Rain or Shine dropped its initial game this conference when it lost to Alaska (109-102).

Their second defeat was more painful.

Still licking the wounds of their semis defeat to Powerade in the last conference, the Painters squandered a 17-point deficit and lost to the Tigers again, 122-120.

The losses put the Painters under pressure because of the short elimination series where teams will play just nine games, making each game very important.

After the eliminations, six teams will advance to the playoffs with the last four automatically eliminated.

After Barako, ROS takes on Ginebra Friday also at the same venue.

So for ROS, it should better play with a sense of urgency to stave off early elimination.

Besides the POS Painters have yet to face two of the league giants - defending champion Talk 'N Text and Petron Blaze.

The Painters will take on the Energy side eager to bounce back from their own back-to-back defeats after opening the conference with a huge win over the Aces (98-78).

Barako Bull lost to B-Meg (88-86) and Air21 (97-88).

The success of ROS hinges on Duke Crews who averages 28.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in his first two games while Barako Bull will have to lean on former NBA veteran Dermarr Johnson.

The 6-foot-9 Johnson averages 25.6 points, including a 37-point production in a loss to Air21 (formerly Shopinas.com).

Like ROS and Barako, Ginebra is also desperate of a win after absorbing a heathbreaking 76-74 loss to Alaska - no thanks to LA Tenorio's three-point bomb.