STREAKING teams Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters and Blackwater Elite shoot for a share of second place when they take on separate perennial playoff contenders in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
The Elite (2 wins, 1 loss) certainly wants to continue making noise and keep its streak going when it faces an acid test in TNT KaTropa (1-2) at 7 p.m. tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in an interesting tussle.
In the opening game at 4:30 p.m., the Fuel Masters (2-1) also aim on sustaining their winning run when they go toe-to-toe with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (1-2).
Should they win against their respective foes, Blackwater and Phoenix will move up into a second place tie with the Magnolia Hotshots (3-1).
Flaunting its evident improvement, Blackwater posted one of its best wins in franchise history.
The Elite dominated Barangay Ginebra before cruising to a 94-77 drubbing last Friday in a stunning display for its second straight win. Blackwater continued to bank on the rising core of Mike DiGregorio, Poy Erram, Allein Maliksi and Mac Belo as the four continue to shine.
“We’re coming off a great win and we hope we can keep our level of play,” said Elite coach Leo Isaac. “We envisioned to compete and possibly beat even the usual contenders and we believe we can continue to have a good chance against them.”
On the other hand, the Tropang Texters have lost their last outing against defending champion San Miguel, 76-88, last Saturday and they are looking to bounce back against the Elite.
Like Blackwater, Phoenix has been a team on the rise as of late.
After losing their first game, the Fuelmasters found their groove and have racked up two wins in a row. They beat NLEX, 102-95, last week.
In contrast the Elasto Painters are on a slump. They have lost two straight after winning their initial assignment.
Rain Or Shine bowed to GlobalPort, 70-78, last Friday.