Send the series to Game 7.
That’s the plan of Yeng Guiao and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to pull off what would be a gigantic upset against the TNT Tropang Giga in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis. For the fiery tactician from Pampanga, it’s the only way his young wards will overcome Chot Reyes’s veteran champion squad.
“We’re hoping we can push this series into a long series At least now we’re 2-1, that means minimum of five games,” Guiao told reporters after Rain or Shine defeated TNT in Game 3 on Sunday. “We want to reach seven games. We’re physically and mentally prepared to play seven games in this series. We designed our management of our minutes to be able to still be fresh in a Game 7. That’s what we’re hoping.”
Game 3 Win a Step in the Right Direction for Rain or Shine
That plan hinges on Rain or Shine actually winning three games—and the Elasto Painters finally got one out the way with their 103-98 thriller of a win in Game 3. And with Guiao’s wards practically playing the Tropang Giga on even terms in the first three games, it might not be that farfetched to see Rain or Shine sending this series to a one-game decider.
Guiao is taking things one game at a time, though.
“For now, you win one. That means you’re going to have to play at least five games. We win another one that means you’re going to have to play six games… The longer it takes, the better for us. That’s our only chance, if this becomes a short series for them,” Guiao further said while also admitting his team got a huge break when TNT’s Jayson Castro got injured in Game 2.
For Guiao, Castro’s patellar tendon tear is “a big deal” that’s practically unavoidable at this point in a long tournament. But he also pointed out that Rain or Shine didn’t have its energetic stopper, Caelan Tiongson, when the Elasto Painters and Tropang Giga met in the PBA Governors’ Cup semis.
“We lost to Caelan in the last series. We were not able to use him in our last series against TNT,” he said. “You have to be also prepared for those things happening.”
Rain or Shine looked prepared in Game 3—like a team on a mission to get to Game 7. Expect TNT to prepare just as much to deny the Elasto Painters’s grand plan.
