2ND CRACK AT FINALS SPOT FOR BOOSTERS
Lesson learned for Petron Blaze: Don’t play with fire when your business is combustible commodity like fuel.
Two days after their dreams of a semifinal sweep and an early appearance in the championship series went up in smoke, the Boosters try once more against defending champion Rain or Shine in Game Four of their best-of-5 series in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Petron still leads the series, 2-1, but a loss at 7:15 p.m. would have dire consequences.
For one, serious doubt would set in, making the seemingly impervious Boosters looking vulnerable all of a sudden. For another, a resurrected Rain or Shine, crippled as they are with the absence of two key personnel, could catch fire at the most opportune time and torch down Petron.
And with E-Painters coach Yeng Guiao handed a box of matches to play with, a small fire lit underneath the Boosters after Game 3 Saturday could turn into an all-consuming inferno.
Three chances to put away a team missing top playmaker Paul Lee and dervish swingman Ryan Araña should be more than enough for a star-studded ballclub like Petron. But with Rain or Shine successfully sneaking a foot in, the odds on the Boosters winning one of three have somewhat dwindled.
All probabilities fly out the window, of course, with Game 5.
This, Petron coach Gee Abanilla, always a genial soul, must hammer into his players, especially import Elijah Millsap, who just had 17 points on 4-of-21 shooting in a 92-87 loss that revived Rain or Shine.
Petron allowed Rain or Shine to set the pace from the start, thinking perhaps the embattled champions would let the crown to slip from their heads and fall in Game 3.
Big mistake. And the E-Painters could make it even bigger – perhaps as big as 6-foot-10 Junmar Fajardo getting manhandled by smaller “bigs” Beau Belga and JR Quiñahan for but 9 points and 9 rebounds (after 26 and 14 in Game 2) in 36 minutes as a starter.
Or as big as Arwind Santos going 4-of-10 in 39 minutes also as a starter. Or the entire Boosters missing 40 of their 57 shots from inside the 3-point arc. Or the 15 errors from which Rain or Shine picked up 19 turnover points.
For sure, the E-Painters’ sense of urgency and aggressive defense made it all possible, setting the stage for Arizona Reid turning Millsap into a mishap and Jeff Chan finally shaking off the shooting blues with four 3-pointers.
Still the Boosters have to answer for their flat start and for their even flatter finish.
“We had a chance to win the game, but we allowed them to hang around until the end and that’s the main story,” said Abanilla. “We lost our rhythm as a result.”
Guiao said they are living for the moment.
“We like to use this as capital to encourage ourselves to grind it out,” he said. “All three games are hard games. We know we can’t win easy, so we want to reciprocate by not giving them also easy games. The longer the series goes, the better for us,” added Guiao,
Petron won Games 1 (91-83) and 2 (90-88).
Quinahan returned after sitting out the second game of the series with a bruised Achilles heel, but Araña, who was nursing a high fever in Game 2, remained in sick bay. If the former De La Salle player gets well enough to help Rain or Shine’s cause, and the tandem of JIreh Ibanes and Gabe Norwood continues to slow down Millsap, then a winner-take-all encounter looms in the horizon.
Much will depend on how the Boosters would get Belga and Quiñahan off Fajardo’s back to allow the rookie Redwood to get inside and draw the double-team or keep the ball alive under the offensive glass. (WJRHT)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
