I WAS at Game 4 of the PBA Governors Cup Finals at Smart Araneta Coliseum’s Upper Box A along with 13,702 people who braved the rains and the Sunday traffic of busy Cubao. Taking in the action from above the floor reconnects you with your fan roots and the people who keep the PBA going.
Way above the ringside and behind one of the baskets, you get a unique perspective of how the game flows as you see all players immediately cutting or racing to the basket. You also see how both coaches are pacing the floor and how they react to each other while trying not to look at each other straight in the eye.
In the first quarter, Rain or Shine did not look like the team that had a 2-1 edge in the series against B-Meg. The Llamados attacked unceasingly on the break, blanking the Elasto Painters 10-0 in the first four minutes.
The lead increased to its biggest spread of 17 as Rain or Shine was off to its slowest start in the series. B-Meg faithful beside me were ecstatic, hopeful for a series equalizer. Maybe Tim Cone’s move to pull out his big guns in Game 3 was going to produce dividends as James Yap was off to a blazing start.
But from up there in the stands, you could see the momentum shift in the second quarter.
Tyrone Tang, the once fabled shooting star of Xavier School and De La Salle hit two straight treys and gunner Ryan Buenafe pocketed a four-point play. The Elasto Painters uncorked a 12-0 run, freezing B-Meg at 39 points for almost five minutes. In time, the early lead fizzled out and Rain or Shine grabbed the upper hand.
The three-point shot is the main reason why leads of as many as 20 can be overhauled nowadays in basketball. Prior to the inclusion of the ABA-created shot into the NBA and world hoops, fans could surmise “tambak na” (the lead is large) and unreachable. Of course, never-say-die teams of the Micaa or the NCAA and the UAAP in the past could mount rallies with a full-court press and endless fastbreak points as long as there was time. But today, it’s the three-point shot that engineers rallies faster and that’s why early big leads are nothing to feel safe about.
Yap kept the torch alive for B-Meg in the fourth with a few rainbow connections but his teammates could not get him the ball in the last 2:14 when it mattered the most. After one last huge three from Gabe Norwood, Rain or Shine stayed tough in the clutch for a 94-89 win and a 3-1 series lead.
B-Meg fans were downtrodden as they made the long descent into the wet Cubao streets. Typhoon Gener and a misguided low pressure area were already conniving to pour rains and blow gusty winds, surely making the trip home an arduous one. The fans knew that climbing out of a 3-1 hole is never easy although it’s been done before. The Llamados will have to kick away the blues of the abyss they’re in, resist wanting the season to end in Game 5.
On the other side of the street, Rain or Shine fans heading to the metro rail stations and parking lots were seeing nothing but sunny weather and the possibility of a first title.