RAIN OR SHINE guns for a commanding 3-1 lead over Talk ‘N Text in Game Four of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup finals on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After dropping the series opener, the Elasto Painters won the next two games to grab a 2-1 lead.
And they want to make it three in a row to stay in full control of the series. Game Four is set at 7 p.m. encounter.
The league, meanwhile, will also announce the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) and the Bobby Parks Trophy (Best Import) winner before tip-off.
Talk ‘N Text’s Jayson Castro and Rain or Shine’s Paul Lee are the top two bets for the BPC award, along with San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, while Ivan Johnson of Talk ‘N Text and Wayne Chism of Rain or Shine, on the other hand, are disputing the Best Import race.
Rain or Shine Head Coach Yeng Guiao expects not only a more physical battle in Game Four but a Tropang Texters side that has made major adjustments.
Guiao said their 109-97 win in Game Three was a result of balanced scoring, teamwork and “staying in the system.” But he anticipates his counterpart, Jong Uichico, to tweak his game plan on Wednesday night.
“We kept using the offense we’ve been running in Game Two. Kung ano ang umubra para sa amin ’yun ang ginawa namin sa Game Three. We’re waiting for their adjustments,” Guaio said.
“We anticipated some things, hindi pa nila pinakita. We just kept those in the warehouse. We’ll make use of those based on the defense they will play in Game Four,” he added.
Chism had his best game in the series in Game Three with 32 points, while Lee contributed 17 makers but lost a tooth due to Johnson’s wayward elbow.
Rookie Jericho Cruz and Jeff Chan netted 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Elasto Painters, who are now two wins away from winning their second PBA title.
Uichico said they need to defend better in Game Four.
“We just gave them too many points. We scored enough to win a game, but we gave up a lot of points,” Uichico said. “It’s not a race to three, it’s a race to four. You just have to get the job done.”
After exploding for 44 points in their 108-116 loss in Game Three, Castro was limited to 20 points in the next game.
“Sa amin, malaki na ‘yung 20 ni Jayson. Nobody can stop him one-on-one. You can only stop him as a team,” Guiao said.
Joel Orellana