RAIN or Shine and Alaska play their version of a Game 5 today for the second championship series berth in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
The rubber match of what has become a highly physical series starts at 8 p.m. with no team actually holding momentum after the Elasto Painters barely scraped past the Aces in overtime, 123-121, on Thursday to forge this decider.
Alaska finished that game strong, playing without an import with still 6:24 left in regulation time and having a clear shot at winning only for JV Casio to slip while going for a breakaway layup that would have shattered a 121 tie.
Coach Yeng Guiao of Rain or Shine acknowledged the luck that came their way in the final 33 seconds of Game 4, and he knows that they would have to work double time to fend off the determined Aces.
Henry Walker was summoned by league commissioner Chito Salud last night after getting ejected for hitting Paul Lee with a right elbow at the back of the head.
Fined P30,000 by the league over his actions, Walker also got a dressing down from Salud.
The Alaska import showed his frustrations in two games of the series—both of which the Aces lost—with the first happening in Game 2 when he gave Beau Belga a football tackle from behind. He served a three-minute mandatory penalty.
Belga, incidentally, was one of the heroes for Guiao in Game 4, finishing with a career-high-tying 21 points and 10 rebounds, capping his night with a putback of an Arizona Reid miss for what turned out to be the final count.
Gabby Espinas is a question mark for Alaska after being helped off the floor early in the second half on Thursday for twisting his right ankle and never returned to the game. If he doesn’t suit up tonight, his absence will leave a gaping hole in the Alaska frontline.
Casio twisted his left ankle with that slip but returned later on and actually took the last two Alaska shots—the first a triple and then a 16-footer which would have sent the game into a second extension.
Gabe Norwood, meanwhile, played through the pain on Thursday and will again be a vital cog for the Painters. He played hard-nosed defense on Walker and contributed a lot of intangibles that didn’t reflect in the stats sheets.
It also took Lee quite a while to recover from the Walker blow and the day’s rest would have helped. He and Casio will go at it again one final time this season, with the fates of their respective sides dependent on how they quarterback.