RAIN OR SHINE tries to avoid a 0-2 hole when it plays San Miguel Beer in Game Two of their best-of-five semifinal series in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters blew a 24-point lead in their 95-101 loss in Game One on Thursday. They are hoping they have moved on from that debacle as they seek the equalizer in their 5 p.m. encounter.
But Rain or Shine Head Coach Yeng Guiao needs consistent effort from his wards to prune the series into a best-of-three affair.
“We had a great start, but we could not sustain it. We learned our lessons from Game One,” Guiao said. “The challenge for us is to break their zone. We did pretty well against their match-up defense but our shots wouldn’t fall versus the zone.”
Wendell McKines had a solid Game One performance for the Elasto Painters with 33 points. Paul Lee (19 points), Beau Belga (12) and Raymund Almazan (10) also hit double figures.
While offense was not a problem for Rain or Shine in Game One, they struggled on defense, especially in the second half where San Miguel Beer quickly erased a 46-60 halftime deficit.
“Credit to the players. It’s unbelievable,” said San Miguel Head Coach Leo Austria, whose team trailed by 24 points twice in the first half, 19-43 and 21-45, as the Elasto Painters’ shooting was on target early.
“Rain or Shine is very motivated. They’re creating mismatches against June Mar [Fajardo]. They want June Mar outside the shaded area and [Paul] Lee has been unstoppable,” he added.
Marcio Lassiter led the Beermen’s surge in the second half and tallied 22 points. Former Elasto Painters import Arizona Reid also poured in 22 points.
Alex Cabagnot finally showed up after so-so performances in the past few games and collected 15 points and eight assists.
“Nagpakita na ulit si Alex. He just showed his true worth,” Austria said of his southpaw playmaker.
Fajardo and Arwind Santos had double-double games for the Beermen—Fajardo had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Santos tallied 13 and 12 to lead their frontline attack.
Guiao needs his shooters to connect, as Jeff Chan, Jerico Cruz and Ryan Araña were not able to contribute on offense. Chan had seven markers, while Cruz and Araña were scoreless in Game One.
“Our confidence remains high despite the setback,” Guiao said. “We have been through adversity and we knew we can handle it.”
Image credits: KEVIN DE LA CRUZ