Butiki Bullets: Sunday January 31

• All eyes are going to be on Rain or Shine guard Solomon Mercado tonight, who averaged 27 points per game in three games going into their quarterfinal match-up against Purefoods. The Elastopainters can be a pretty tough out when Mercado is on his game offensively. If Roger Yap can contain him, this will be a short series.

• Fans of the Chris Tiu-Jvee Casio bromance will be disappointed to know that the two are no longer roommates in the recent Smart Gilas trip to the Middle East. Tiu reveals in his blog that he bunked with new acquisition Marcio Lassiter, who fit in quite nicely with the Gilas boys in their Dubai stint.

• ABL action today. Gabe Freeman and the Philippine Patriots take on Rudy Lingganay's KL Dragons. Okay, so Lingganay isn't exactly the best player on that squad. The 4th ranked Dragons will be a dangerous foe for the Patriots. Coach Louie Alas once called the Dragons "the best defensive team in the league." KL owns wins over each of the top three teams, including a 77-59 rout over the league-leading Pats.

• Newly-minted Smart Gilas team manager Frankie Lim is heading to the US to find a new naturalization candidate. To be honest, the exercise is getting fans, including me, impatient. If Lim comes up empty-handed on this trip, should the Gilas boys consider going All-Filipino and turn their efforts into getting Coca-cola star Asi Taulava instead? Asi has always been a willing player for flag and country, and it would be nice to see him playing in relevant games for a change.