The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters notched their ninth win of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday, blasting the Titan Ultra Giant Risers 142-131 in a fast-paced, high-scoring affair that played right into their strengths.
Yeng Guiao admitted as much. He told reporters his team got to run at their preferred pace—but only because Titan Ultra played just as fast. That’s the catch. The larger context of Guiao’s words should worry Rain or Shine fans, because he acknowledged that certain teams can dictate tempo and force the Elasto Painters into uncomfortable territory.
“We try to do that [speed up the pace], pero depende rin ‘yan sa kalaban. Kasi, kunwari, ‘yung kalaban mo nag-ii-slowdown ng laro, eto nakikipagsabayan talaga ‘to, so you can play at your pace,” Guiao said after the win.
He’s right. Titan Ultra is second only to Rain or Shine in pace. The difference is efficiency—Rain or Shine leads the league in scoring, while Titan Ultra sits at the bottom.
Guiao’s Rain or Shine Reality Check
Guiao later admitted not every team is like Titan and that some squads can ground Rain or Shine’s high-powered running game.
“There are other teams that will try to slow you down,” Guiao said. “Nangyayari din ‘yun na we score below a hundred points and usually other teams try to bring us down or slow us down. Agg Titan naman, makikipagsabayan talaga, kaya siguro ganito ‘yung mga numero. But it does not necessarily follow na we can do this to the other teams.”
The numbers back him up. Rain or Shine has failed to breach triple digits only four times this season. They lost three of those—87-83 to the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 92-90 to the NLEX Road Warriors, and 114-90 to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. The lone exception was a grind-it-out 91-82 win over the Magnolia Hotshots.
Come the quarterfinals, Rain or Shine could run into teams built to slow the game down. Magnolia, Phoenix, San Miguel Beermen, or TNT Tropang 5G all have the tools to drag the Elasto Painters into half-court battles.
That could be a recipe for disaster.
