Painters gun for crucial win vs Warriors

WITH the jockeying for quarterfinal position at stake, Rain or Shine shoots for win number 6 when it faces first-round victim NLEX in a crucial PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup match on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Elasto Painters enter their 5 p.m. game tied with the surging San Miguel Beermen atop the Group B standings with identical 5-2 records. The charges of coach Yeng Guiao will try to duplicate its 124-105 hammering of NLEX. But the Road Warriors (3-4), still fighting for a playoff spot, are out to arrest their three-game losing skid. And the good news is, they are also unveiling a new import in DeQuan Jones, who is taking the spot of Myke Henry. Henry averaged 25.85 points and 8.14 rebounds per game for the Road Warriors during the first seven games of the season. Rain or Shine will face an NLEX side that will try to ride on the vast pro basketball experience of the 34-year-old Jones. Sure, Aaron Fuller, Beau Belga, along with ROS' slew of guards like Adrian Nocum, Gian Mamuyac and Andrei Caracut will lead the team's charge, but NLEX feels Jones, who saw action for the Orlando Magic in the 2012-13 season, can provide the scoring sock and other intangibles for the team. Meanwhile, TNT (7-1) shoots for a fifth straight win and a repeat over struggling Magnolia (4-3) in the main game at 7:30 p.m. The Tropang Giga subdued the Hotshots, 88-82, in their first meeting last August 29. Magnolia has been blowing hot and cold this season and will hopefully get a more stable performance from comebacking import Shabazz Muhammad. Muhammad, who came to replace fellow NBA veteran Glenn Robinson III, tallied 20 points and delivered the game-winning basket in Magnolia's narrow 99-98 win against Terrafirma last week. The left-handed former Minnesota Timberwolves wingman was plagued with fouls in that game but managed to come alive in the fourth quarter when Magnolia needed him most. Games Tuesday (Ninoy Aquino Stadium): 5 p.m. ROS vs NLEX, 7:30 p.m. TNT vs Magnolia
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