‘No pain, no gain’: B-MEG ready for battle against physical Rain or Shine

AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan

Marc Pingris knows the physicality that’s in store for the B-MEG Llamados against a team coached by Yeng Guiao.

And he’s not just ready for it; he’s also willing to dish it out.

“Sasabihin namin sa referee na kung ano ang gagawin nila sa amin, ganun din ang gagawin namin sa kalaban,” he said.

Pingris, along with James Yap and Peter June Simon, is a veteran of many wars for the Purefoods franchise against the Red Bull squad coached by Guiao. The two teams figured in two straight finals series in the 2005-06 season. Purefoods won the Philippine Cup that year, with Pingris winning the finals Most Valuable Player award.

The franchise will rekindle that rivalry with Guiao on Sunday, when the Llamados face the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to begin their best-of-seven finals series for the Governors’ Cup.

Veteran center Rafi Reavis said that B-MEG is ready to get physical.

“No pain, no gain,” Reavis told InterAKTV. “This is what we live for, so we have to be ready in anything.”

Like other Guiao teams of years past, Rain or Shine is known as a physical outfit, with enforcers such as Beau Belga, JR Quinahan, Ronnie Matias, and Ryan Arana peppering its roster.

Already, some bad blood is brewing between the two teams, stemming from their semifinals encounter just last Wednesday. After a series of physical plays under the basket, Rain or Shine forward Jervy Cruz got into a scuffle with little-used B-MEG bruiser Jerwin Gaco, resulting in a flagrant foul for the former.

B-MEG coach Tim Cone expects the temperature to beef up even more.

“They are a physical team and we’re more of a finesse team. So we have to be a tough guy to beat them,” he said.

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