It wasn’t pretty, but the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters got the job done against the Meralco Bolts on Sunday, hacking out a hard-fought 85-83 triumph at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Yeng Guiao admitted as much, describing the win as one of Rain or Shine’s worst games so far. Nevertheless, he was glad his team made just enough plays on both ends to get the win—their fourth in this PBA Governors’ Cup in six matches thus far.
“Ito siguro isa sa pinakamasamang laro namin, but we found ways in the endgame to carve out a win…,” Guiao told reporters. “It’s not a really nice game to watch, low scoring, maraming messy plays, but ang importante na-limit namin sila sa 36% field goal shooting… It became a defensive game, and [about] finding ways to win. ‘Yung last game namin parang ganito rin, importante manalo lang, makahanap ka ng paraan.”
Rain or Shine Finding Ways to Win
Guiao is right. Rain or Shine’s last win—a 98-97 squeaker against the Magnolia Hotshots—was a grind-it-out battle as well, with Adrian Nocum hitting the marginal basket and Aaron Fuller coming up with a huge defensive play to seal the win later on.
Incidentally, those two contributed to the Elasto Painters’ latest escape act, with Nocum issuing the assist that led to Fuller’s game-winning undergoal stab. Their contributions were part of a total team effort that saw multiple players doing a little something to help the Rain or Shine cause—from Luis Villegas playing heads-up defense, to Caelan Tiongson hitting a huge four-pointer, to Deo Cuajao knocking down open shots.
“Small things contribute to a win, especially if it’s a carve-out win…,” Guiao stressed. “Sa akin, ito ‘yung mga importanteng lessons na you develop your character and your toughness. There’s always something to learn from wins like this.”
Two wins, two close calls. Plenty of learnings along the way. And the Elasto Painters are starting to show the kind of toughness forged by winning in the trenches.
