Elite, Fuel Masters face acid tests

MANILA, Philippines — Are Blackwater and Phoenix Petroleum for real?

The Elite and the Fuel Masters get another good test to see if they really belong now with the league’s traditional contenders as they take on the TNT KaTropa Texters and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, respectively, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Phoenix and Rain or Shine take the floor at 4:30 p.m. then Blackwater and TNT KaTropa slug it out at 7 p.m.with the Fuel Masters and the Elite both out to sustain a strong start in the season and regain a piece of second place with the Magnolia Hotshots at 3-1.

The Fuel Masters have emerged among the early frontrunners with back-to-back wins over the Kia Picanto (125-102) and the NLEX Road Warriors (102-95) after a losing season debut against the San Miguel Beermen (96-104).

The Elite, meanwhile, made a bigger impact on their back-to-back victories over champion teams Rain or Shine (92-87) and Barangay Ginebra (94-77).

New Phoenix coach Louie Alas said it’s too early to tell if they belong now with the big boys, but promised to find ways to compete against any team they face.

The Elite are upbeat especially with their upset of the Gin Kings.

“It’s special beating Ginebra and handing them their first loss,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

“For sure, the win will lift the morale and confidence of the team,” said Poy Erram, a big key in their triumph against the Gin Kings.

The consensus among the PBA watchers is that Blackwater has gained improvement on the return of Erram and Mac Belo, their recruitment of Allein Malicsi, Mike Cortez, Mike Digregorio and Roi Sumang plus the arrival of rookie Toto Jose.

“They are truly one of the up and coming teams in the league. They are building their team the right way,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

“Blackwater is a really good team. They’re the rising team now. They have a complete lineup,” said Ginebra ace guard LA Tenorio. “They have big guys, they have wings, they have guards who really shoot the ball well, they have veteran point guards so you can see them as one of the playoff teams.”

TNT coach Nash Racela himself is wary of the Elite, noting Blackwater’s big improvement.

While almost all the teams beefed up their lineup, the Texters, on the other hand, lost some offensive punch from their previous all-Filipino lineup on the exit of Ranidel de Ocampo and Larry Fonacier.

The Texters are off to a struggling start in the tourney, dropping games against the Elasto Painters and the Beermen, and winning just once against the Alaska Milk Aces.

“We’ve been working on correcting our mistakes. And we’re hoping we could execute better,” said Racela.

The Texters did well majority of the way versus the Beermen but reeled on the Beermen’s decisive run from late in the third period in their Iloilo game.

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