Not letups for McKines as Rain or Shine shoots for crucial lead

Wendell McKines. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

There was a point late in the game where Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao was already looking ahead to Game 3.

But that was before the Elasto Painters, somehow, managed to steal the game away from the San Miguel Beermen on Saturday night.

“We thought it was a lost game but we just hung in there,” Guiao admitted after Rain or Shine found its way back from 20 points down in the third quarter and survive an avalanche of 3-pointers by Marcio Lassiter and the Beermen.

“What we were trying to do in the last quarter was to fine-tune our defense we are going to use in the next game so if we’re not going to win in this game we just wanted to be better in the next game,” Guiao added. “But it paid dividends for us, it gave us this kind of result.”

While the Beermen turned to their hot outside shooting with 21 made triples, 10 of which came from Lassiter, the Painters countered with their import Wendell McKines.

McKines had 53 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and five blocks to tow Rain or Shine to a 113-110 win and even the semifinals series at 1-1.

“Rain or Shine is a veteran, experienced team. Together, we were just resilient,” said McKines. “We knew we had to weather the storm no matter the outcome.”

“I just wanted to stay aggressive. They brought me out here to be aggressive and to bring energy no matter what the outcome of the game is. I couldn’t letup,” McKines, who was all out as usual for 43 minutes and still looked as if he could still play one more quarter.

McKines and the rest of the Painters go for a 2-1 series lead Monday night.