Reid must get help from locals to beat San Mig, says Guiao
Az Reid of Rain or Shine (dark) vs Marqus Blakely of San Mig (light). NUKI SABIO/PBA
MANILA, Philippines — Arizona Reid had one of his usual offensive nights with 31 points but he was the lone Rain or Shine player to hit double digits Saturday night.
And the lack of help from the locals is the biggest concern for the Elasto Painters heading into Game 4.
“We just got outworked today,” ROS head coach Yeng Guiao admitted. “We lost by 13 rebounds and we relied too heavily on AZ for scoring. I just thought that if we’re not going to get scoring from the locals, we’re not going to be able to beat San Mig.”
“AZ (Reid) is trying hard to carry us on his shoulders but it’s just not going to happen that he can do it by himself,” Guiao said.
Guiao gave Reid a much-needed breather to start the fourth quarter and without the two-time Best Import on the floor, San Mig Coffee was able to create separation and eventually get to the cusp of a Grand Slam following a 78-69 win in Game 3.
“We just have to go to practice tomorrow (Sunday) and find ways to get the others involved on offense,” Guiao added.
After Reid, Beau Belga was Rain or Shine’s next best scorer with eight points on four-of-10 shooting from the field while Jervy Cruz and Ryan Araña finished with six points each.
Jeff Chan and Paul Lee, relied on for their scoring abilities, combined for just six points on three-of-12 shooting from the field after teaming up for 26 points in a win in Game 2 last Thursday.
“They played with a lot more energy. They played with a lot more aggressiveness. And Im not happy with the way to came out today,” Guiao pointed out. “We had a chance actually. We had a one-point lead in the fourth quarter and we turned the ball over I think five straight times It’s just a terrible mental lapse.”
Rain or Shine now finds itself needing to beat San Mig Coffee two consecutive times to win just its second championship in franchise history. The Painters did that in the semis when they knocked off the Alaska Aces despite trailing, 1-2, in a best-of-five series.
“We’re down 1-2 but I don’t think is the end of the series yet. I don’t think it’s gonna end on Monday we’ll try our best to extend this another day,” Guiao said.
“This is the way we got into the semis. We lost the first game, we won the second one, we lost the third but we won the last two so we’re just hoping it’s the same pattern all over again.”
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