Yeng Guiao had been worried about his Rain or Shine Elasto Painters ahead of the PBA Governors’ Cup restart. It turns out, his concern was justified.
Rain or Shine, the erstwhile leader in Group B before Friday, got trounced by a determined and desperate Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 129-111, in a game where the Elasto Painters resembled little of the team that had won four straight before the extended break. And, for Guiao, the loss was as much mental as it was Ginebra having a magnet ball of a game.
“We lost the game in the first quarter. Dun palang talagang downhill na ‘yung trajectory namin. I don’t know if it’s due sa long break or coming off a four-game winning streak,” Guiao told reporters after the blowout loss. “Ito ‘yung sabi ko na I was a little worried before the game na ano kaya ang kundisyon namin. Did we do enough in the long break to keep ourselves in good shape or at least in the proper frame of mind? Tingin ko kasi medyo mental din ‘to e. We fell into that mental trap. We started out badly and we couldn’t recover from there.”
The Elasto Painters actually led, 5-2, very early in the opening frame. Then, Ginebra got going from downtown, going 8-for-11 in the next 10 minutes to end the first quarter ahead, 40-19. Rain or Shine, as Guiao pointed out, never got back in it.
Guiao, Rain or Shine Move On, Set Sights on Blackwater
Guiao, never one to mince words, called the blowout a wake-up call for Rain or Shine, who dropped to solo second in Group B with a 4-3 record—just a win and a loss ahead of the Blackwater Bossing and Ginebra. Incidentally, the Bossing are next for the Elasto Painters, and Guiao knows fully well that game on October 17 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo is a must-win for them.
“We still have three games. We need to win at least two of the three games to make the next round,” Guiao pointed out. “I think that’s really what’s important. ‘Yun talaga ang hinahabol namin. Pero lumiliit ‘yung window… I think kelangan namin manalo sa next game namin. I think that’s a crucial game, ‘yung game namin against Blackwater kasi nagko-contend din sila…”
Aware of the potential playoff implications of that clash versus Blackwater, Guiao wants his team to fix whatever they did wrong in the lead-up to Friday’s marquee matchup against Ginebra. They will have eight days—including today—to do just that.
“We know may mga mali kami sa preparasyon namin going into this game. So, the eight days will serve us well to make corrections. May mga mali talaga kami sa preparations namin,” the fiery tactician noted. “We did not feel the sense of urgency. ‘Yung Ginebra naramdaman nila ‘yung sense of urgency nila. Baka magising kami, maramdaman namin na kailangan talagang magbanat ng buto, so gagawin namin sa preparation namin, sa ensayo.”
The countdown starts now.
