Rebounding has been the telling factor in this highly-physical semifinals series, and Rain or Shine underscored that distinctive importance anew Thursday night.
Relentlessly crashing the boards all game long, the Elasto Painters bundled out the San Mig Coffee Mixers with a 90-83 Game 6 victory to barge into the PBA Philippine Cup finals at the MOA Arena.
Hardly contributing in their 67-79 defeat in Game 5 last Dec. 29, sweet-shooting Jeff Chan bounced back and drilled in 27 points on top of seven rebounds and three assists while three other teammates had 10 markers each as Rain or Shine earned its second straight finals appearance.
Paul Lee scattered nine of his 15 points in the second canto while steady Jervy Cruz contributed 14 and Fil-Am Gabe Norwood had 10 for the E-Painters, who also upstaged the Mixers (then known as B-Meg Llamados) in an epic seven-game showdown in the Governors Cup for their first-ever pro league title.
Rain or Shine will now have to wait for the winner of the other semifinals pairing between defending champion Talk ‘N Text and Alaska, with the Texters holding a 3-2 series lead.
"I'm really proud of the guys,” beamed Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who will be making his 11th finals appearance. “They just played with a lot of heart. They really wanted to be in the championship.”
“I’m really glad it’s over, at least for this series. It’s either we finish them off in Game Six or they finish us off in Game Seven. If this series goes to a Game Seven, our chances (of winning) would be really low,” he added.
Good thing, the Elasto Painters dominated the rebounding department, hauling down 62 (12 each off Norwood and Beau Belga) against the taller Mixers’ measly 48 output. Rain or Shine corralled 24 of those rebounds offensively, giving them a whopping 28-5 advantage in second chance points.
Banking on their speed and quickness to offset the Mixers’ imposing frontline, the Painters repeatedly pushed up the tempo–notably in the decisive surge in the fourth–and Guiao was quick to stress that out.
“Jeff and Paul played their best game. Our simple game plan was to keep running the whole game and keep the game fast. We kept them chasing after us and fortunately for us they tired out,” he related.
PJ Simon sizzled with a game-high 29 points, 18 of those coming in the opening half, but former two-time MVP James Yap struggled anew, going 2-of-15 from the field to finish with just six.
“PJ Simon was our biggest thorn in this game and we’re just lucky the other guys didn’t explode at the same time,” added Guiao.
After the Mixers controlled majority of the first half for a 52-48 lead at the break, the Painters started to assert themselves in the third, coming through with a 16-5 surge for a 64-57 cushion–off a Chan fall-away.
The Mixers, however, stayed within striking distance at the end of the third 68-71 before forging a 73-all count, courtesy of Yap’s hook over Ryan Arana with 8:50 to go in the payoff period.
But it was all Rain or Shine from then on.
With Chan taking charge again offensively, the Painters clamped down on the Mixers defensively in uncorking a blinding 11-to-nothing run for a sizeable 84-73 cushion, time down to just 4:27.
San Mig, however, refused to quit and dropped seven straight points, capped by a Simon leaner, cutting the deficit to just 80-84 with 61 seconds left.
Just four seconds later, RoS quickly doused cold water on that heated run, with Cruz escaping with a completed three-point play off Mark Barroca.
Another lay-up by Chan off a steal clearly took the wind out of the Mixers’ sails, putting the Painters comfortably ahead at 89-80 with just 38.9 ticks left.
Although he’s boasting six titles under his belt, the All-Filipino crown has been elusive for Guiao, 53, but he’s not thinking too far ahead, saying: “Ayoko munang isipin dahil masyado akong nape-pressure. I, and the rest of the guys, will just savor and enjoy the chance to win that championship.”
“We can take a rest for a few days then we will prepare (for the finals). I hope it’s a long series (the TNT-Alaska series) just to give us a few more days of rest,” he added.
Guiao is convinced his charges remain hungrier than ever, adding: “This is a younger team and we’re coming straight off a championship which contributed to our mental strength. We’re tougher this conference the experience really helped us. May momentum na kami, tapos ‘yung bench namin healthy. Motivated sila and they want to win an All-Filipino title.”
(yahoo.com)
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