Despite being shorthanded, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are not yet ready to concede their Governors’ Cup crown despite trailing 0-2 in their best-of-five semifinal series against the Petron Blaze Boosters.
“We’re not losing hope,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao told InterAKTV after his team’s 90-88 defeat to the Boosters on Wednesday.
The team had one final chance to force overtime, but import Arizona Reid missed a jumper as time expired. The Elasto Painters were within a shot of Petron despite playing without three key members — Paul Lee (calf), JR Quinahan (Achilles tendinitis), and Ryan Arana (high fever) — and missing all 18 of their shots from beyond the arc.
“We could have won this game even with a depleted line up. We will just hang in there and continue fighting and hold on for as long as we can. Maybe if we held on long enough maybe we will give ourselves another crack getting to the next round,” said Guiao.
“Kung naka-shoot pala kami maski isang three-point shot, nanalo pa kami. But I’m happy with the overall effort of the team.”
Guiao hopes his team’s fortunes will change on Saturday when the Elasto Painters fight for survival.
“Hindi naman siguro kami 0-of-18 ulit sa three-point shot sa Saturday,” he said. “Ang situation namin ngayon is just Saturday. No other focus other than that. ”
Without a complete lineup, Guiao admitted matching up with Petron center June Mar Fajardo is a problem.
“Kulang kami sa malaki talaga, especially if Beau (Belga) is in foul trouble. The next guy after Beau is Jervy (Cruz) and Larry (Rodriguez), masyado nang maliit para kay June Mar,” said Guiao.
Despite two losses, Guiao was still in a good enough mood to joke about his team’s lack of height.
“Ang hirap kasing magpalaki in three days eh, hindi kaya ng vitamins,” said Guiao in jest. “Kung makakakita kami ng mangkukulam, pakukulam na lang namin.”
Turning serious, Guiao said the Elasto Painters will have to plot how to contain Fajardo, who had 26 points and 14 rebounds in Game Two.
“We have to talk with the coaching staff to find ways how to neutralize the size advantage,” said Guiao.
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