INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra coach Jong Uichico talked with such sense of urgency that sounded quite odd considering the way his Gin Kings manhandled Rain or Shine.

?It?s good that we were able to survive this game,? Uichico told reporters last night, moments after a ho-hum 86-70 destruction of the Elasto Painters which tied their Motolite Fiesta Cup semifinal series at 2-all at the Araneta Coliseum.

?It would have been very difficult to come back had we lost this game,? he added even though there was very little hint that the Painters had the game to beat the Kings starting the second quarter, where Ginebra held Rain or Shine to only 11 points.

That brilliant defensive effort eventually limited Rain or Shine to the fewest output by any team in the tournament with only import Jai Lewis able to score in twin digits for the Painters, finishing with 23 points and 15 rebounds in a one-man effort that fell way, way short.

Jay-Jay Helterbrand, after being held scoreless in the fourth quarter in each of the last two games, hit 17 of his 21 in the second half, 11 coming in the third period where the defending champion Gin Kings broke away with leads of as large as 25 points.

Last night wasn?t exactly as beautiful compared with any of the first three games of the series as Ginebra also struggled and finished with just a 37-percent clip from the field.

In fact, import David Noel was good for just 10 points in 34 minutes and was just the third and last King in twin digits after Ronald Tubid, who wound up with 14 before being thrown out with 2:38 in the third period because of a second technical foul.

After closing out the half sitting on a 10-point bulge, the Kings poured it all in the third, totally shading the Painters with a barrage of baskets from inside and taking a 66-41 lead courtesy of a Helterbrand triple with 4:16 left.

Rain or Shine didn?t come close to even putting a dent on that bubble and the final margin came to what it was after Uichico threw in his second stringers during garbage time.

But even with such an overpowering win that gave the Kings back the psychological edge in the series, the soft-spoken mentor refused to put down his guard.

?Rain or shine is really a tough team, and they just keep going after you,? he said. ?I don?t think one team dominates the other. There?s no trend, really. Anybody can come out and play well one game and win it.

?It?s now a question of who wants it more,? he continued. ?Are they hungrier than we are? That?s the question I posed (to the team, after trailing 1-2)? And I think that was the case.?

Meanwhile, the flagrant foul 1 slapped on Burger King?s Mark Yee was upgraded to FF2, necessitating a suspension on the rookie swingman for Game 5 tomorrow and a fine of P20,000.

The Scores:
BARANGAY GINEBRA 86?Helterbrand 21, Tubid 14, Noel 10, Salvacion 8, Intal 7, Reavis 7, Mamaril 6, Baguio 5, Lanete 3, Artadi 3, Wilson 2, Kramer 0, Pacana 0.

RAIN OR SHINE 70?Lewis 23, Tang 9, Isip 8, Arana 7, Wainwright 7, Reyes 5, Salangsang 5, Norwood 3, Laure 3, Dulay 0, Andaya 0, Ejercito 0.
Quarters: 23-22, 43-33, 72-53, 86-70