The last game of the elimination round of the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup will take place this Friday, with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters facing off with the Magnolia Hotshots. Read on for more about this game.

Catch this game live on Friday,  December 2 at 5:45 pm, Manila time.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-6)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Rey Nambatac
  • SG: Andrei Caracut
  • SF: Shaun Ildefonso
  • PF: Ryan Pearson
  • C: Jewel Ponferada

Rain or Shine needs to win this game for its playoff aspirations. The Elasto Painters helped their cause with a 116-97 win over the Blackwater Bossing last Friday in which the Ryan Pearson and Rey Nambatac scored 22 and 21 points, respectively. That victory broke Rain or Shine’s two-game losing skid and gave the team a much-needed boost for a tough assignment versus Magnolia. 

Offensively, the Elasto Painters are not much to write home about, as they are ninth in this conference with 96.5 points per game, but they are always a threat to break away or trim down leads in a hurry with their outside shooting. So far in the conference, Rain or Shine is averaging 12.4 3-pointers per game on 32.4 3FG%, both top-five numbers in the PBA. 

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Magnolia Chicken Timplados (9-2)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Paul Lee
  • SG: Mark Barroca
  • SF: Rome dela Rosa
  • PF: Rafi Reavis
  • C: Nicholas Rakocevic

There’s no questioning the motivation of Magnolia to win this game. Sure, the Chicken Timplados, who beat the Meralco Bolts, 108-96, last Sunday, have locked up a spot in the playoffs, but they still need to win this game to avoid a tie with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for the No. 2 seed in the postseason. Magnolia is favored to win against the Elasto Painters for obvious reasons. 

While Rain or Shine is a middle-of-the-pack team offensively and defensively, Magnolia is fifth in offensive rating (110.0) and third in defensive rating (98.9). Expect the Chicken Timplados to get plenty of scoring opportunities while taking away a lot from Rain or Shine, with Magnolia tops in the Association in total rebound rate (50.9%), while the Elasto Painters are near the bottom with a 45.1 TRB%.

PREDICTION:

Spread: Magnolia (-5.5) covers the spread.

Over/Under:  The total (184.5) hits the Under.

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