MANILA: Depleted and all, Rain or Shine is ready to take its act to the next level.
The Elasto Painters, still a premier point guard short, held off repeated Barangay Ginebra comebacks last night to pound out a 94-88 victory and take an unexpected 2-1 lead over the heavily-favored Gin Kings in their Fiesta Cup semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum.
Gabe Norwood tossed in 17 points, his five fourth quarter points proving crucial as he helped the Painters avert a fourth quarter collapse that had the defending champion Kings almost erasing an 18-point deficit.
“We are just coming out there to have a lot of fun,” Norwood told Arab News on the way to a boisterous Rain or Shine locker room. “We know we’re the underdogs and we have practically nothing to lose. “We’re just enjoying ourselves out there and it has been a great ride so far.”
Rain or Shine is making its first semifinal appearance in franchise history, and not many experts gave the team a Chinaman’s chance against the Kings, especially after the way Ginebra closed out its elimination round schedule against these same Painters.
The win put the Painters within another two victories of a first-ever Finals stint, one which very few saw could come this early in their PBA existence especially after Solomon Mercado has continued to miss this series because of a hamstring pull. “Despite us being young, it just shows that we have adjusted and we have the heart to play in this level,” a beaming coach Caloy Garcia said. “And naturally, we won’t stop here, we want to achieve more.” Ryan Arana bravely returned to action despite a heavily-taped right wrist and contributed eight points coming off the bench, quite the effort expected from him since Jireh Ibanez missed the game because of a fever.
The former La Salle ace in the UAAP had the game’s biggest basket, a three-point play with 11:10 remaining which doused cold water on one of Ginebra’s rallies and got the man who put the Kings back in the contention out of the game.
Rain or Shine took a 62-44 lead later in the third period and looked like it was headed for a cruise.
But the Kings rallied behind Cyrus Baguio, who was slapped with a Flagrant Foul 2 call while trying to chase down Arana from taking that three-point attempt, which made it 79-68 for Rain or Shine.
Baguio was automatically ejected, and though Arana missed completing a four-point play, it was evident that momentum again shifted to the side of Rain or Shine, which saw that 18-point lead dwindle to just 69-64 near the end of the third quarter.
Norwood also grabbed 12 rebounds and helped burly Jai Lewis provide the intimidation inside the shaded lane. Lewis finished with 16 points, the same number of boards and six assists in another sterling all around show.
While Rain or Shine taking the lead in its series proved a surprise, powerhouse San Miguel expectedly rebounded from a stinging Game 2 loss with a 100-88 triumph over Burger King for a similar 2-1 edge in a game that punctuated the physicality of their match-up.
Gabriel Freeman scored 35 points and had 16 rebounds and Jonas Villanueva started out at the point to contribute 13 of his 15 points in when the Beermen wriggled free in the first half before holding off the Whoppers in the stretch.
The turning point for San Miguel came in the second period, where it held Burger King to a measly 14-point output that bloated a 30-21 first quarter lead to as large as 22 near the end of the half.
And it was all the San Miguel needed from there as the Beermen easily thwarted several rally attempts by the Whoppers to prevail convincingly.
Jonas Villanueva scored 13 of his 15 markers in the first half and even though the Beermen got only one other player scoring heavily, the early damage was simply too much for the Whoppers to overcome.
Arwind Santos paced Burger King with 22, but the Whoppers severely missed the scoring of Shawn Daniels, who was held to just eight last night after shooting 29 in Game 2.
