It took Rain or Shine six years to make a conference Final in the Philippine Basketball Association.
And just when practically no one but the Elasto Painters themselves gave the squad an even chance, here they are knocking on the door of a breakthrough title against a team many considered was starting a dynasty.
The Painters, who were without Rookie of the Year Paul Lee for the second straight game, won for the second straight night, 94-89, to move within another triumph of wrapping up the best-of-seven series for the Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We get some breathing room, but it’s by no means done. It’s never done until it’s done,” coach Yeng Guiao said after getting 23 points and 14 rebounds and a lot of great plays in the stretch from import Jamelle Cornley.
“This is a vulnerable moment for us because we might think it’s over but it’s not.” Gabe Norwood, the first Painter to win the Rookie of the Year trophy before Lee, shot 18 markers, with his biggest bucket coming by way of the three-point shot with 4:39 remaining that gave Rain or Shine an 88-81 lead.
The win was doubly impressive considering that, with Lee already out, the Painters had to erase a 29-12 deficit in the first quarter and were in the lead by halftime, 47-45.
Ronjay Buenafe also stepped up, completing two four-point plays before capping his night with two pressure-packed free throws with 38.3 seconds left that put the game to bed, 92-87.
James Yap led the Llamados with 25 points, his most of the conference, and Marqus Blakely had 22 points that went with 23 rebounds.
B-Meg, which is seeking to win a second straight championship for the first time in franchise history after its Commissioner’s Cup conquest, got a lot of points from its superstar players unlike in Game 3, but the Llamados were effectively stifled in the waning minutes when the game hung in the balance.
In the 37-year history of the PBA, only Robert Jaworski’s Ginebra San Miguel squad in the 1991 First Conference was able to overturn a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven championship series.
Guiao knows that for a fact, and knows that B-Meg is one squad that could very well duplicate that.
“When you’re playing B-Meg, anything can change,” Guiao said. “They can be hard to stop when they find their bearings. This (game) was the time we could pounce on them.” The fourth game of the series was no different from the first three, as full physicality was on display practically all night.
But it was clear that B-Meg was the one that lost its cool, with Marc Pingris giving Ryan Arana a headbutt with 8:27 left.
The 6-foot-5 hardworker was lucky to have escaped with just a flagrant foul penalty 1 call, but having to ride the bench from that point on deprived the Llamados of one reliable man in the middle.
Meanwhile, Mark Caguioa of Barangay Ginebra won his first MVP award, and Jeff Chan of Rain or Shine was the Most Improved Player in glitzy rites held before tip-off of Game 4.
Caguioa nipped Powerade’s Gary David and the duo was joined in the Mythical First team by Petron Blaze’s Arwind Santos, Yap and Talk ‘N Text’s Ranidel de Ocampo.
