Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood with a one-handed dunk. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
YENG Guiao had doubts on import Pierre Henderson-Niles and on how his Rain or Shine crew would survive the playoffs knowing they were on course toward playing the two biggest teams in the Oppo-PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Turns out the low-scoring Henderson-Niles is the most perfect fit for his Elasto Painters, and Guiao now has his sights set on the tournament’s biggest prize after the entire squad proved him wrong yet again.
Rain or Shine totally destroyed the myth of invincibility that surrounded June Mar Fajardo and San Miguel Beer and bundled out the Beermen Sunday night, 124-99, in Game 4 of their semifinal series at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It’s satisfying,” Guiao said, when asked how winning the best-of-five Final Four series, 3-1, meant to him after having two previous playoff failures against the Beermen. “It was something that I doubted (we could win), but the players proved me wrong.”
Paul Lee announced his return to peak form with 10 points and Chris Tiu had eight in the breakaway second period, where Rain or Shine peeled away from a 23-22 lead to build a 22-point lead early in the third quarter that all but took the fight out of the Beermen.
It was a surprising way for San Miguel to go, as coach Leo Austria and his crew never even got close to winning the second jewel of a Triple Crown he had announced was still alive after scraping past Star in the quarterfinals.
“It’s a great feeling beating a great team like San Miguel,” Guiao said.
Henderson-Niles, like in the best-of-three quarterfinal series against Barangay Ginebra and the 7-foot Greg Slaughter which the Painters swept, was the key as the burly import managed to neutralize Fajardo.
Arizona Reid came in as a replacement for the fired Tyler Wilkerson on Saturday and was an easy target for the Rain or Shine defense.
“We knew that AZ still wasn’t 100 percent, that he didn’t have the legs (for this game),” Guiao said.
The Painters thus advanced to a best-of-seven championship showdown with either Alaska or Meralco, with the Aces trying to wrap up their side of the Final Four with a win in Game 4 at 7 p.m. Monday, also at the Big Dome.
Asked whom he would like to face as he seeks to win the seventh title of his career in his 15th title series appearance, Guiao, ever a good copy for reporters, said: “Bahala na sila sa buhay nila (It’s their problem, not mine).”
Reid scored 25 points and Marcio Lassiter 20 for the Beermen, with Lassier, the hero in San Miguel’s 104-98 Game 3 win, fouling out.
Former MVP Arwind Santos also showed his frustrations with still over 10 minutes left, when he struck former college teammate Jeff Chan with a blow to the shoulder, resulting in a a mandatory five-minute stint on the bench.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 124—Lee 18, Henderson-Niles 15, Norwood 15, Tiu 13, Cruz 12, Almazan 10, Ahanmisi 9, Quinahan 8, Chan 6, Ponferada 5, Belga 4, Ibanes 3, Nimes 2, Teng 2, Trollano 2.
SAN MIGUEL 99—Reid 25, Lassiter 20, Cabagnot 18, Fajardo 12, Espinas 6, Ross 6, Santos 6, David 5, De Ocampo 1, Arana 0, Heruela 0, Tubid 0.
Quarters: 23-22, 61-42, 92-70, 124-99