FILE–Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against San Miguel Beermen. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIREr.net
MANILA, Philippines—Rain or Shine had a solid chance of taking one over San Miguel in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series.
That chance, of course, fizzled out in the endgame when the Beermen showed their veteran poise to sweep the Elasto Painters, 107-100, at Mall of Asia Arena on Friday.
But if the Elasto Painters have any say at it, they had a solid shot at stunning the reigning all-Filipino conference kings. Just ask coach Yeng Guiao.
READ: PBA: San Miguel ousts Rain or Shine to complete sweep, enter Finals
“We know that San Miguel is strong and hard to beat in a series but we hoped to get one or two. Sayang, the disappointment is there. We had a chance to win, even in that last game we had a chance, same with this one,” said Guiao in Filipino.
“We just couldn’t get it done in the end so in that aspect, we’re disappointed.”
Rain or Shine held a convincing cushion for the majority of Game 1. At one point, the Elasto Painters led by as much as 19.
But What was before the Beermen shifted into a whole new gear in the fourth quarter.
READ: PBA: Yeng Guiao fumes over Terrence Romeo’s ‘disrespectful’ late three
In the payoff period, San Miguel locked in and scored 32 quarter points while also hounding Guiao’s wards to only 13 points.
Gian Mamuyac, who top-scored for Rain or Shine with 30 points, held the same sentiments as his mentor and thought they could one-up the mighty Beermen in Game 4.
“I thought that was it. Sayang but at least, it’s a learning experience, especially for us who are young. We got to the semis, that’s huge for a young team so we’ll just absorb all the results and hopefully, we’ll come back stronger next conference, which is in three months,” said the Ateneo product.
Santi Santillan also sounded off on the Elasto Painters’ flaws, especially in the payoff period when San Miguel cruised to a comeback rally that ultimately gave them the first ticket to the Finals.
“It was our chance but that’s how it is in the endgame. We don’t have a CJ (Perez) or a June Mar (Fajardo) who are go-to guys who can really score. We lost in their 2-3 zones, we couldn’t score right away and even the offensive rebounds were theirs so that’s where we lost,” said Santillan after tallying 14 points and five rebounds.