RAIN or Shine ran a seemingly listless defending champion San Miguel Beer to the ground last Tuesday night.
For Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao, two things worked wonders for them—their defense that stifled the formidable Beermen and their running game.
“Our defense was the key against a really strong offensive team like San Miguel. To limit them to 93 points, it’s really the effort we put out on defense,” Guiao said. “Our only chance against San Miguel is to play fast; kapag nakipag-half court ka wala kang tiyansa.
“The only way to win is to play at the pace na hindi sila comfortable, tutal iyon din naman iyong pace talaga naming, gusto lang namin na mabilis lang iyong laro and I think that works for us,” he added.
Guiao spoke after Rain or Shine dumped SMB 107-93 for its second straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Painters’ stunning win over the favorites served as a big follow-up to a 99-81 thrashing of foreign guest team Eastern Wednesday last week.
Guiao lauded his wards’ resolve when the locals held their ground for most parts of the game after import Deon Thompson was saddled with foul trouble.
“Good sign sa amin iyon na we were able to hold our own kahit all-Filipino kami. Na-foul trouble si Deon. So, kailangan talaga magtiis kami ng ilang minuto na nakapahinga siya para hindi siya ma-expose pa sa more fouls,” Guiao said.
“Nakita ko iyong effort ng mga bata, nakita mo rin na gusto talaga nilang manalo Kahit noong panalo namin sa Eastern, you can see the desire. Mararamdaman mo na gusto nilang manalo talaga. So, I’m really happy with our effort.”
Thompson unleashed 18 points, on top of four rebounds, three assists, and three blocks for Rain or Shine while Adrian Nocum also shone with 15 markers, five boards, and four dimes and most importantly led a vicious 12-0 blitz in the fourth quarter that left SMB flabbergasted.
Rookies Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti and Caelan Tiongson also had 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Keith Datu and Jhonard Clarito combined for 22 as the Painters rose to 2-1.
The Beermen fell anew after a 99-104 loss to the NLEX Road Warriors last Sunday and dropped to 1-2 in the mid-season meet.
Guiao has just one wish for Christmas.
“Naka-dalawang malalaking isda kami, iyong Eastern at SMB. So, mayroon talaga kaming hinahabol ng number of wins bago mag-Pasko,” Guiao said. “Baka madagdagan iyong pamasko sa amin kung maganda-ganda iyong record namin.”
