GAMES TOMORROW
(Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay)
5 p.m. – TNT vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. – SMB vs. Ginebra
YOU can call them gatecrashers, uninvited, spoilers, but there’s one word that aptly describe coach Yeng Guiao’s Rain or Shine squad—gritty.
With sheer hard work and fortitude, the Elasto Painters proved they belonged when they ousted the second-ranked and twice-to-beat NLEX Road Warriors in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup over the damp and rainy weekend.
As his charges shift their focus on a best-of-7 semifinals battle with fancied and grand slam-seeking TNT, their mindset remains the same—keep their title dreams going.
“Wala naman kaming dadaanang iba. Ang dadaanan mo lang naman diyan ay TNT, Ginebra at San Miguel. So, I’m really proud of these guys because now TNT is there, San Miguel is there, Ginebra is there. And then Rain or Shine is there. Sino ba kami?” posed Guiao. “Parang gatecrasher lang kami rito. Ang daming mas malaking mga kumpanya, mas maraming resources. Pero kami nakarating dito.
“Parang pinabili lang kami ng suka, nakarating kami rito, pintura, kasama na. So, gatecrasher kami, nagpa-party sila, pinapasok kami sa gate. Magpa-party na rin kami. Ganoon lang iyon,” he added.
Rain or Shine completed the job with a 103-92 victory over NLEX in the second tiff of their Last Eight series, with forward Leonard Santillan tallying a near double-double of 24 points and nine rebounds, to go with two assists.
Andrei Caracut also had 16 markers while Jhonard Clarito turned in 13 points and 16 boards for the Painters, who also drew 11 and 10 from Anton Asistio and rookie Mike Malonzo, respectively.
Rain or Shine and the Tropang 5G kick off their race-to-4 showdown tomorrow in Game 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Like they did against the shell-shocked Road Warriors, Guiao is hoping their “whatever it takes” mentality will serve them in good stead anew against the Tropang 5G.
“Ito iyong pinag-uusapan namin sa locker room, just play our brand of game which we call it buwis buhay basketball. Parang effort lang, grit lang. If something’s going on na mali or you can’t get your rhythm in the game, just put in the effort, just play with grit, be tough,” he said.
“Doon lang namin nakuha. Pati iyong first game namin, doon din namin nakuha. We just play our brand of game. If things are not working out, just make the best effort.”
At the very least, the Painters have four games to show they are welcome in the semis.
