The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters finally got on the board in their PBA Philippine Cup semis series against the TNT Tropang 5G with a rousing 107-86 blowout in Game 3 on Sunday to halve the Tropa’s lead to 2-1. But even with the Elasto Painters’ surprising beatdown of the Grand Slam-seeking Tropa, Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao knows his team is still facing rather tall odds against TNT.
In fact, the fiery tactician couldn’t help but acknowledge how challenging it is to beat TNT in one game, never mind a series.
“They know what it takes. Naintindihan nila ‘yun,” Guiao told reporters after Sunday’s Game 3 win. [But] after playing TNT three times in the semis, we know what it takes, pero iba pa rin. Iba ‘yung ano nila… They’re very competitive, they’re very disciplined, and then, ‘yun nga, double-barrel shotgun, [RR] Pogoy and [Calvin] Oftana. Their sheer talent, they can take over a game. Ang bigat pa rin.”
Guiao obviously knows what Pogoy and Oftana can do. He had a front row seat to an RR Pogoy special in Game 1—post-ups, midrange jumpers, and long bombs for big 28 points—and a Calvin Oftana masterpiece in Game 2, where he fired 39 and simply took over down the stretch.
It’s why Rain or Shine certainly caught a huge break when the former FEU Tamaraw suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of Game 2, forcing him to miss Game 3 and potentially Game 4 as well. Yeng Guiao knows it, too, attributing TNT’s series-opening win to Pogoy’s brilliance and describing the veteran’s absence in Game 3 as “malaking bagay.”
Yeng Guiao Comes Clean: TNT Is Just Hard to Beat
Indeed, TNT is a handful, and Guiao doubled-down in tipping his hat to Chot Reyes and his wards, who have seemingly made a habit of defying tall odds on their way to winning the title in the Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup.
“‘Yung sabi pag wala si RHJ [Rondae Hollis-Jefferson], mas madali sila [Tropang 5G] talunin, hindi rin. Ang hirap nilang talunin,” Guiao pointed out, before revealing what he thinks is his team’s only chance at beating TNT in this series.
“At least naka 2-1 kami. Our best chance is to make this series long. If it becomes a short series, talo kami,” said Guiao. “So, at least nanalo kami ngayon, we know it’s going to five games. Pag nanalo pa kami, we know it’s going to six games. We know our best chance is really taking this series to the stretch.”
It’s only one win. But given how hard it is to beat TNT, it might be the victory Yeng Guiao and his wards need to get another… and another… and maybe another.
