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05:10 PM February 06, 2014
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PETRON Blaze may have been given an inadvertent boost in its bid to at least stay alive in its PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup semifinals showdown with Rain or Shine.

It’s now a matter of how the Boosters pounce on the opportunity when they tangle with the Elasto Painters anew 8 p.m. Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Rain or Shine comes armed with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and is bent on closing the deal outright.

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For its part, Petron must take full advantage of playing the E-Painters, who are without suspended coach Yeng Guiao and with the status of a key player punctuated by a big question mark, while dishing off the kind of game it showed so brilliantly in a 106-73 victory in Game 3, to at least force another match.

A slight lapse could spell disaster and the Boosters collectively know this.

Guiao is of the same mind, noting how a win by Petron should tremendously boost its morale and confidence. But he pointed out his team has more room for error than Petron because of their lead made possible by an 88-83 Game 4 win.

The outspoken tactician also remains confident despite playmaker Paul Lee nursing a sprained right ankle he suffered during Game 4. Even forward Jervy Cruz would be wearing a mask to protect his broken nose inflicted by Alex Cabagnot in the dying seconds of last Monday’s game.

“I still believe the team can win, even with our disadvantages,” said Guiao, suspended for the game and fined P100,000 for flashing a dirty finger at the game officials after his ejection in Game 3 last Saturday.

“Paul is injured and I’m not sure if he could play. Jervy has a broken nose and has to wear a mask. Hindi nga siya nakapag-practice kahapon (Wednesday) because he was waiting for that mask,” related Guiao.

“But even with those and without me, I feel we can still win. Preparado ang team, may gameplan kami na susundin and it’s simply a matter of the team as a whole rising to the occasion.”

Petron should have the same mind-set.

June Mar Fajardo was huge in Game 4 with 27 points and 17 rebounds while Arwind Santos also came up with a double-double of 14 and 11.

Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz also turned in double figures in points, but the rest of the Boosters failed to provide ample support, forcing coach Gee Abanilla to use his two stars for extensive minutes.

Fajardo was visibly running on vapors as early as midway in the fourth period of the very tight contest, the toll of scoring, rebounding and defending while banging bodies for 44 minutes.

Rain or Shine had no such problems with its balanced attack, as evidenced by six players scoring in the fourth frame against only three by Petron. (NC)

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