ANTIPOLO: No one can call Rain or Shine an underachiever anymore.
The Elasto Painters, ranked the lowest in the wildcard phase, broke away for good at the start of the fourth quarter Wednesday night to deal Coca-Cola a 99-84 ripping and barge into the quarterfinal round of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center.
Solomon Mercado and Eddie Laure hit the shots that took the fangs out of the game Tigers as Rain or Shine, after starting the tournament with a whimper, roared back to life at just the right time to make the playoffs and shut up its critics.
“We really weren’t playing well at the start of the season because we had six new players in the team,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia told reporters. “I just asked my players to believe in each other and keep the confidence in themselves.
“And this is the result,” he said. “We took the long route getting here, but it’s all worth it.”
Rain or Shine thus advanced to a best-of-five quarterfinal showdown with rock-solid Purefoods, the No. 3 team after the eliminations which has been on vacation for a week. That series, as well as the Barangay Ginebra vs Talk ‘N Text match-up, will start Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome, and one thing going against the Elasto Painters is the fatigue factor after having played three games in the last seven days.
“I’ll give the players the chance to rest tomorrow and then it’s back to work after that,” Garcia said. “We want to enjoy the moment and I don’t believe that we will lose momentum as long as we keep believing in each other.”
Mercado scored just six points in the first half after being saddled with fouls early.
And that proved to be somewhat of a blessing for the Painters, as Mercado whipped up a storm in the latter part of the third and for the entirety of the fourth.
The stocky point guard almost singlehandedly dominated offensive play for the Painters in the fourth period, scoring almost at will from the perimeter and from daredevil drives.
Laure actually touched off the Rain or Shine breakaway with two straight baskets to open the fourth quarter before Mercado found an answer to each and every Coca-Cola rally that frustrated the Tigers.
Mercado finished with 28 points and eight assists, while Gabe Norwood backed him up with 16 points like Jeff Chan and Laure.
Gary David led the Tigers with 20 and Asi Taulava’s 18 points and 19 boards went to naught. Mark Macapagal chipped in with 17 for Coca-Cola, which finished seventh in the tournament with its exit.
Rain or Shine, which ousted 2008 champion Sta. Lucia in the first phase of the wildcard on Sunday, actually tried breaking away in the second period by holding the Tigers scoreless for close to the first four minutes to zoom to a 31-20 lead.
Things started falling out of place for the Tigers, who just couldn’t get anything from rookie point guard Chris Ross and relief quarterback Marvin Cruz. The duo couldn’t hold the team together as Coca-Cola had more turnovers that points in the first six minutes.
Dale Singson, a veteran who has definitely seen better years in the league, then came off the bench and restored some semblance of order in the Coca-Cola offense as the Tigers managed to prune that gap to six heading into the halftime break.
Chan, an acquisition from Barako Bull during the off-season, scored 11 of his total in the first half, including three triples.
Meanwhile, the ouster of the Realtors from further contention doomed Kelly Williams’ chances of winning another Best Player of the Conference award.
It also gave San Miguel swingman Arwind Santos a great opening considering that the Beermen will be playing at least four more games in the semifinals, and if ever, another four in the championship.
Santos finished a close second to Williams in the statistical points race after the elimination round with an average of 38.2 SPs. The 2008 MVP Williams had a 40.2 SP average but would not be considered in the voting since his team did not make the playoffs.
Alaska dynamo Willie Miller is running third with an average of 31.8 points, with defending champion Talk ‘N Text guard Mac Cardona in fourth with a 31.4 average. Rounding out the top five was Barangay Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid, who normed 30.7.
