Yet the gung-ho vociferous head mentor of Rain or Shine couldn’t, as he was serving a one-game suspension for an action he committed last week he said was something he had to do ‘to stand up for his team.’
But even though Guiao wasn’t around, the kind of character he is famous for was present – from start to finish.
Desperate for a victory, Rain or Shine took Talk ‘N Text out of its running game and made the Tropang Texters look really bad and far from the ones aiming to capture a rare Grand Slam, holding down the telecom franchise to its lowest output for the season in a shocking 96-81 victory Wednesday night in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Arizona Reid scored 30 points and pulled down 20 rebounds in another sensational effort, and likewise provided the leadership on the hard-court and the energy needed for a team that was fighting for dear life in its quest for a first-ever finals berth.
But the night wasn’t about Rain or Shine’s dominance against Talk ‘N Text alone.
Petron rose from the grave, fought back from a 28-point third-quarter deficit, survived the loss of Arwind Santos on fouls in the final period, and outlasted sister-team Ginebra in overtime, 96-88.
The Boosters refused to give up when they dropped behind by a whopping 63-35 margin, a deficit the Kings were able to build after unloading a 12-0 blast after leading 51-35 at he half.
Unknown to Ginebra, Petron still had a lot of determination left.
The Boosters outscored the Kings, 25-14, in the fourth quarter, and had the chance to win the game outright when Anthony Grunday got fouled by Ronald Tubid while shooting a three and with Ginebra ahead 85-83 with 14.2 seconds left in regulation.
Grundy, however, missed his first free throw before sinking the next two, and Ginebra never got a clean shot in the next play.
In overtime, Petron held Ginebra to a lone field goal, a lay-up by Donald Sloan. Alex Cabagnot had four points in overtime, and Grundy added a triple as three teams – Petron, Alaska and Ginebra – are now tied for second spot behind Talk ‘N Text.
Grundy nearly had a triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and two blocks while Santos, who fouled out with 1:17 left to play in the fourth quarter, had 19 points and the same number of rebounds for Petron, which went back on the winning trail after losing to Alaska in its semi-finals debut, 88-81, Sunday.
Cabagnot added 16 points and seven assists, while Danny Ildefonso poured in 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Sloan finished with 25, but only had four in the fourth and overtime periods while Mark Caguioa collected 23 points but had none in extra time.
“This was a big win for us. Had we lost, our chances of making the Finals would have been over,” said Boosters’ coach Ato Agustin.
Reid, on the other hand, showed what a classy import should be all about.
“We fought them like bad boys,” said Reid. “Tonight was a desperate time for us. We’re going to fight to the end, it doesn’t matter. When I leave here, I want people saying that that guy fought to the end, night in and night out.”
Reid was indeed spectacular, and this time he claimed a positive outcome after his conference-best 41-point performance against B-Meg last Friday went down the drain in a disappointing 99-98 loss.
The Painters now have five victories in 10 games to tie B-Meg in the six-team, carry-over semi-final round. They certainly have a shot at getting a playoff for the second championship berth provided Rain or Shine beats its last three remaining opponents in Alaska, Petron and Ginebra and avail of the four-of-five incentive.
“It’s a point where we can’t lose games anymore,” said Caloy Garcia, who took over the head-coaching job for the game. “It was a blessing we were able to beat the top team. It’s how you bounce back from a defeat that matters. You step out in a good way.”
It was just too bad Guiao failed to witness it.
In pulling off the surprising victory, the Painters held the Texters to their lowest output for the season. Talk ‘N Text’s previous was at 82 when it lost to San Miguel Beer in Game 3 of the Philippine Cup Finals last January, 103-82.
Talk ‘N Text likewise had one of its bad shooting nights, merely converting 30 of its 97 attempts (30.9 percent), the second lowest under coach Chot Reyes, and was limited in its three-point shooting at 6-of-31, a statistic that simply pales in comparison to the 16-of-32 the Texters had in their 103-85 victory against Alaska also last Friday.
So shocking was the outcome that Rain or Shine even built a 69-43 lead in the third quarter when Reid knocked in a triple with 4:15 remaining.
The best that the Texters could come to was at 75-62 early in the fourth when Talk ‘N Text scored seven straight points.
