Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia got what he wanted ever since their Final Four series with mighty San Miguel Beer started: a close endgame to have a chance.
His Elasto Painters didn’t waste that and delivered.
Draining the shots they needed to in the first game of this best-of-five semifinal series of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup that went down-the-wire, the Painters finally pulled one out of the fire, scoring a 112-104 victory to forge a critical Game 4 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It’s a good win. We almost had another meltdown, got an 18-point lead in the first quarter,” Garcia said. “But like I said, it’s really hard playing against San Miguel. I’m just proud that we weren’t swept by this powerhouse team.”
Games 1 and 2 had the Painters scampering off to hot starts, leading big on both occasions only to lose big in the end. In Game 2, Rain or Shine led by as large as 29 in the second frame, but halftime came with the Beermen trailing by just three.
Rain or Shine wouldn’t have a repeat of that this time, and will take some form of momentum going into the fourth game Friday also at the fabled Big Dome.
Carl Montgomery had 25 points, Rey Nambatac 23 and three more tossed in 11 or more for Garcia, whose charges chalked up a first win over San Miguel this conference.
The loss derailed the Beermen’s advance to the Finals and put to naught a terrific 51-point, 14-rebound performance by Chris McCullough.
“We hope that we extend the series again and bring it to a Game 5,” Garcia added.
Meanwhile, TNT tries to put Barangay Ginebra away for the second time on Thursday when Game 4 of their side of the semifinals is played also at Araneta Coliseum.
And coach Tim Cone is expressing so much confidence, with his Gin Kings coming off an 80-72 win that averted a sweep by the KaTropa.
“They beat us three straight. There’s no reason for us not to beat them three straight,” he told reporters Tuesday night.
Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
“We get to see if we could turn it around and try to get two [more wins],” Cone said.