RAIN OR SHINE guard TY Tang gets sandwiched by the double team of B-Meg’s Josh Urbiztondo (left) and Jonas Villanueva. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines—With its outside guns on target for most of last night, Rain or Shine stormed to a 2-1 lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup title series with B-Meg after a 93-84 conquest of the Llamados at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After getting the job done following a mesmerizing shooting display in the second half, Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao remained on target with his bold prediction to win with or without the injured guard Paul Lee and again took shots at Tim Cone and his foes.
“We played as hard as we could tonight,” Guiao said after getting 26 points and 15 rebounds from Jamelle Cornley and 18 second-half points from Jeff Chan. “Without Paul (Lee), we thought that the biggest complement we could do was play for him.
“He helped us get here,” he continued before dropping another bombshell. “They (his players) play with a lot of toughness that comes from inside, and not just from a t-shirt.”
Guiao was obviously referring to the jerseys worn by members of the B-Meg squad that had the phrase “Only tough guys need apply” printed at the back.
And the firebrand coach wasn’t finished.
“We did not ask for any help from the referees like (B-Meg coach Tim) Cone did after Game 1 and just played as hard as we could,” Guiao stressed. “This is also for the few people who believe in us.”
The Elasto Painters, who are chasing the very first title in their PBA existence, broke away in the third quarter by using the outside shot as a lethal weapon.
Chan, who was scoreless in the first two periods, and Ryan Araña hit 2-of-2 each from beyond trifectaville and Ronjay Buenafe added another as the team missed just one attempt from that distance to highlight a 30-point quarter.
The Painters also hit 8-of-16 perimeter attempts in the period as compared to the Llamados’ 1-of-12 clip from the same area.
Sensing that the game was getting out of hand, Cone recalled his aces to the bench in an effort to preserve them for the next battle.
“My job is not to make the crowd happy (by keeping James Yap and the other stars on the bench in the third),” Cone said. “I love the fans but I can’t worry about them. Maybe we can make them happy on Sunday (in Game 4).”
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 93—Cornely 26, Chan 18, Ibañes 12, Buenafe 11, Norwood 10, Tang 6, Araña 6, Belga 4, Cruz 0, Quiñahan 0.
B-MEG 84—Villanueva 18, Blakely 13, De Ocampo 13, Pingris 9, Yap 7, Barroca 6, Reavis 6, Gaco 4, Urbiztondo 4, Simon 4, Acuña 0.
Quarters: 19-23; 40-38; 70-58; 93-84