Even though the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters entered their quarterfinal outing against the San Miguel Beermen as the third seed, many pundits felt San Miguel still had the advantage.
After all, the Beermen boast championship pedigree in that talented lineup of theirs. They have June Mar Fajardo. They have Bennie Boatwright, who’s so good he’s up for naturalization to beef up Gilas. They’re also coming off two championship runs.
Rain or Shine went out and beat them anyway. And now they’re in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Game Won in the Margins
Afterward, Yeng Guiao acknowledged that this victory—which sent Rain or Shine to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals—was one that had to be “won in the margins,” or in the trenches, in the preparation, in the most minute of details, in the adjustments before and during the game. Guiao and the Elasto Painters made one adjustment, in particular, that might have turned the tide in their favor: they prepared for San Miguel’s zone defense.
“We made the semifinals, yes. But this is just the start for us. And we also knew that this game is going to be won in the margins,” Guiao acknowledged. “We prepared for their zone. Alam namin, the first time na nakalaban namin sila, nung sinona kami, nawala ‘yung pace namin, so we prepared for that zone. We were better prepared for them zoning us this time…”
Indeed, they were. In the Elasto Painters’ 116-112 win over San Miguel back in the eliminations, they built as much as a 25-point lead in the third and entered the fourth with a 22-point cushion, 95-73. Then, the Beermen went zone and bogged down Rain or Shine’s offense for nearly eight full minutes—so much so that they nearly hacked out a come-from-behind victory.
On Friday, San Miguel used the same tactic. It didn’t work quite as well because Rain or Shine knew what to do. That’s how games are won in the margins.
Rain or Shine’s Pragmatic Mentality
Crucially, Guiao and his Elasto Painters went for broke on Friday. They threw everything at the Beermen—including a heavy dose of an inspired Andrei Caracut, whose 29 points on six treys proved game-changing. That was by design as well because Guiao knew beating the Beermen in a do-or-die isn’t exactly a palatable situation for any team.
“We felt na this is our best chance to get to the semifinals. We earned the twice-to-beat advantage, pero alam naming pag pinarating namin ng Sunday ito, malamang sa malamang hindi na namin tatalunin ang San Miguel. So, this is our best chance to beat San Miguel,” Guiao pointed out. “Kung dumating ‘to nung Sunday, I don’t think tatalunin namin sila.”
The Elasto Painters responded to the challenge, and Guiao is certainly encouraged by the fight his boys showed.
“We took care of business today. Ang ganda ng inilaro ni Andrei, Caelan [Tiongson] on both sides, defending Boatwright and making his 3s, contributing on offense… Nagtulong-tulong, the whole team,” Guiao added. “Again, it’s the toughness—‘yung kung kailan kailangan ‘yung stop, kung kailan kailangan ‘yung puntos, naibibigay nila. I think that’s a good sign.”
Yes, Rain or Shine slayed mighty San Miguel. It’s certainly a good sign.
