MANILA, Philippines—Rain or Shine was just a quarter away from taking a commanding 3-0 series lead against Magnolia in the Philippine Cup semifinals.
The Elasto Painters entered the fourth period with a six-point lead and even though, the Hotshots pulled ahead, the game was still very much up for grabs with four minutes left.
It’s just that Rain or Shine couldn’t get anything going when it mattered most.
“We’re still up in the series 2-1. I think we just have to learn from this loss, especially in the 4th quarter, we scored only 11 points. I think we have to be more aggressive in attacking the basket,” said ROS head coach Caloy Garcia after his team’s 85-74 loss Tuesday night.
“Magnolia became more physical than us. There are some calls that I feel didn’t go our way but we can’t blame that to the referees. I think it’s just about us stepping up in that position and being a little bit stronger.”
Rain or Shine was only down by two, 76-74, after rookie Javee Mocon completed a three-point play with 4:03 remaining.
But that was it for the Painters, who went scoreless the rest of the way.
The Painters got outscored, 28-11, in the fourth period with Hotshots big man Ian Sangalang firing 12 of his 16 points in the final frame alone.
“I think they went to Sangalang in the end and we had no answer to stop him in the fourth. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. I think that was the game when they went to Sangalang. We couldn’t contain him. Probably, we’ll find ways to at least limit Sangalang,” Garcia said.
Game 4 is on Monday, 7 p.m., at Araneta Coliseum.