Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Last Wednesday, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao refused to guarantee a victory even after his Elasto Painters had taken a comfortable 3-0 lead in their 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals duel with the Alaska Aces.
But just when the Aces have won two in a row to make the series interesting, Guiao couldn’t help himself from making a subtle declaration.
“I’m still very positive we will win this championship. I will not dare make any more predictions, except that in the end, we will win this one,” Guiao said following the Painters’ 86-78 loss in Game 5 Sunday night.
Despite his confidence, Guiao is wary of the Aces, who have been on a resurgence since losing the first three games of the series.
“Ang attitude ko naman rito, you have to claim it at this point. Itong championship na ito, if you do not make that mental resolve, you can easily lose the momentum,” he said. “Sabi ko nga sa mga players, Alaska now has the momentum, but it doesn’t mean they can run over us and totally take over that momentum.”
“They are still in a bad place, and we are still in a good place. We still have two chances to win this championship, and they still have to beat us twice. Se just have to beat them once, so it’s really looking at it from the positive perspective. Ganoon rin yung tingin ko sa ganoong areas, you have to look at it from a positive perspective.”
Game 6 is on Wednesday night, still at Smart Araneta Coliseum.