Andre Caracut (left) came through with clutch hits late in the game to help seal the win for Rain or Shine in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao admitted being slighted by Magnolia picking his team as its opponent in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
On Saturday at Ynares Center here in Antipolo City, Guiao and the Elasto Painters made sure that the Hotshots would realize the saying “be careful what you wish for.”
“Gabe Norwood kept telling us that we should exact some form of revenge for that,” Guiao said after the 113-103 in the deciding Game 5 of the quarterfinal series sent Rain or Shine to a PBA Governors’ Cup semis date with TNT.
Guiao was referring to Magnolia’s last game in the elimination round, where the Hotshots’ decision to rest their stars against Converge seemed like a ploy to guide their playoff path towards the ElastoPainters.
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“We felt a little maybe challenged because we felt that Magnolia wanted to play us [in the quarterfinals],” Guiao said. “That game of theirs against Converge, they said they would rest their [key] players. To me, it was a conscious choice on their part to play us.”
It wasn’t a good choice.
The Painters prevailed after a series filled with drama and physicality, overcoming a first-half deficit before leaning on the heroics of Andrei Caracut in the fourth to secure victory for the relatively youthful squad.
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Caracut’s big baskets allowed Rain or Shine to continue its overachieving campaign in the season-opening conference, while also making Guiao realize how the point guard has grown since the veteran mentor came back to call the shots for the paint company.
The La Salle product and ex-national team mainstay has caught the brunt of Guiao’s anger whenever he makes mistakes on the floor. But Caracut has taken those criticisms in stride and is carrying the quarterbacking role with flying colors.
“You really have to scold Andrei. But the good thing about Andrei is that he quickly responds,” said Guiao.
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Caracut finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including one four-pointer in the third where the two teams were exchanging basket after basket.
But it was in the fourth that saw the Painters pull away and eventually pass the test that could help the franchise grow moving forward.
“I told them before the game that [it] will define your reputation, it will define your capabilities and it will show the public how much we have improved through the two years since I’ve been here,” said Guiao.
Now Rain or Shine faces a daunting task in TNT in a best-of-seven battle between the two teams that topped their respective groups, a meeting that should have been a Finals showdown had it not been for the playoff format being overlooked before the conference started.