THE ball bounced high off the rim before going in, the first of Rain or Shine guard Jhonard Clarito’s free throws, only 18.7 seconds to go.
He calmly canned his second shot that pegged the final count at 113-103 and sealed the deal, much to the delight of the Painters and their supporters.
Rain or Shine showed up not lacking in motivation when it beat Magnolia in the deciding game of their best-of-5 quarterfinals showdown in the PBA Governors’ Cup last Saturday night.
“We felt a little… maybe challenged, kasi alam namin na parang ginusto ng Magnolia na kami iyong makatapat nila,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said. “Iyong game nila with Converge, I felt sa kanila iyong makapagpahinga raw iyong mga players kaysa sa mag-compete sila sa laro na iyon.
“To me, it was a conscious choice on their part to play us and Gabe Norwood kept telling us that we should exact some form of revenge for that, na these guys chose us. Maybe mas maganda na magsisi sila na tayo iyong pinili nila. That was put as a challenge to the guys,” he added.
After the Painters bagged the top seed in Group A, the Hotshots clashed with the Converge FiberXers in Group B last Sept. 23 with crucial repercussions, with the winner clinching the third seed and the loser settling for fourth. The winning squad was set to tackle the San Miguel Beermen, the second-ranked team in Group A.
The Hotshots lost 82-89 to end up as No. 4 in their group and forged a Last Eight clash with Rain or Shine.
The way his wards hurdled a tough Magnolia side in a highly emotional series pleased Guiao no end.
“Pinaka-proud ako doon sa lumaban lang sila. They just competed. They fought it out, hindi sila bumigay under pressure,” Guiao, who got 26 points and nine rebounds from import Aaron Fuller, said. “This is the fighting heart that the guys showed.”
Clarito and Adrian Nocum added 17 markers each while Andrei Caracut had 14 that included three clutch baskets in the endgame and two freebies that kept Magnolia at bay.
Leonard Santillan and Keith Datu also had 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the Painters atoned for a 100-129 loss in Game 4 and advanced to the semifinals where they will take on the defending champion TNT Tropang Giga in a race-to-4 duel.
Rain or Shine certainly showed up with great motivation. Listen to Guiao.
“Sabi ko lang sa kanila, play this game for yourselves, for your teammates, for your family. It will go a long way in building your reputation and building your respect for yourself,” he said. Ilaro niyo lang, ibigay niyo lang iyong kaya ninyo. Iyon ang ginawa nila.”
