MERALCO’S Cliff Hodge (right) applies pressure on Marc Pingris of San Mig Coffee at low post in last night’s Game 2 of their semifinal series at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Petron Blaze coach Gee Abanilla more or less bared his plans for Game 2 of their PBA Governors’ Cup Final Four series against defending champion Rain or Shine.
“We need the locals to step up more,” Abanilla said Monday night, moments after going through the wringer in winning the series opener, when import Elijah Millsap churned out a PBA career game and bailed the Boosters out.
“In our past won games, there were five to six locals in double figures. We need to get back to that,” added Abanilla, who will go for a 2-0 lead against former mentor Yeng Guiao and the Elasto Painters at 7:15 p.m. today at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.
“That’s the adjustment that we need to make.”
Guiao, on the other hand, didn’t actually mind the way he lost Game 1, saying that, if at all, the close setback made it look like Petron is “not invincible.”
“There were more positives than negatives for us out there tonight,” Guiao said on his way to the car at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Going into the last two minutes, we were in the game. That, to me, is a positive.
“Second, even if we lost, there’s a feeling in the team that Petron is beatable, not invincible,” continued the multititled mentor. “It’s really a boost to our morale that despite the limitations (in our lineup), we probably can find ways to beat them.”
Petron has won its last 10 games now, the longest winning streak for the storied franchise in the last 24 years. It almost came to a halt on Monday, when the Painters took a 77-73 lead midway in the fourth period.
And that was before Millsap bailed them out with 11 straight points.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen often,” Guiao said of the Millsap explosion. “So, if we can get one bad night (from Millsap) soon it will boost our confidence and shake theirs.”
Guiao, though, believes in another thing for them tonight: That this is a must-win game for his Painters in this best-of-five series.
Rain or Shine will shoot for the equalizer again without top point guard Paul Lee, a huge disadvantage for a squad trying to find ways to neutralize the talent-rich Petron roster.
The Boosters will not only rely on Millsap but a bunch of locals that Abanilla hopes he can tap into for Game 2.
Rookie June Mar Fajardo is slowly hitting his stride, bolstering a lineup that already includes Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Ronald Tubid and Doug Kramer.
Gabe Norwood and Jeff Chan, members of the Gilas Pilipinas squad, will lead Rain or Shine’s locals, who need to step up in order to help ease the pressure on import Arizona Reid. Chan did hit 16 points on Wednesday, but wasn’t as deadly from the outside.
Chan and Norwood would need to make three-point bombs to open up the middle for Reid.