LET’S GET PHYSICAL
The scoreboard might have read: Rain or Shine 102 Meralco 93 when the final buzzer of Game 2 sounded, but the most important scoreboard for the Elasto Painters is no less than the bigger picture, which reads: Series tied 1-1.
And with the quarterfinals showdown between the E-Painters and the Bolts going to a sudden death winner-take-all affair on Saturday, one should expect more hustling and jostling between the two squads. In their highly physical encounter last Wednesday, the protagonists combined for 60 fouls.
Rain or Shine’s Ryan Araña knows that the physicality will be an inevitable factor in this series, but he said the key for the E-Painters will be defense.
“Ready lang kami kasi sobrang physical ng game kaya kailangan lang naming i-stop yung tatlong players nila,” Arana said, referring to the trio of Gary David, Jared Dillinger, and import Darnell Jackson.
“Sila yung tumalo sa amin nung unang game, so kailangan lang naming ilimit sila para makuha yung panalo. I think nalimit naman namin sila today kaya kami nanalo,” he said.
Though Jackson was able to lead the Bolts with 22 points and David chipped in 19, all of their points proved to be hard-earned, a credit to coach Yeng Guiao’s game plan and the RoS defenders’ relentless hounding of the Bolts.
Arana admitted that the game was a toughly-contested one which featured two scrappy squads, but he said that by the way the things are going, the advantage is tilting towards the Rain or Shine camp.
“Both teams, gustong manalo. Alam namin na physical yung game, pero yun yung advantage namin. Lahat kami, kaya naming tumanggap ng physicality. Siguro ganun din sila, kaya siguro sa next game, ineexpect lang namin na mas matindi pa yung mangyayari dito. Ready naman kami sa mga ganyang laban,” he said.
The former La Salle star added, “Advantage namin yang physicality, kasi kami, kahit sa practice, kami-kami nagtitirahan eh. Dun kami nakakakuha ng advantage kaya gagawin pa rin namin yun, pero it’s the kind of physical na hindi nananakit. Sakto lang, may katawanan, bigayan lang, at palakasan lang ng katawan. Ganun lang siguro.”
“Ang kagandahan din sa amin is matagal na kaming sama-sama dito,” he said. “Kilala na namin ang isa’t isa at alam namin yung mga role namin, so laruin lang namin yung sistema ni coach at bahala na kung anong mangyari sa Game 3.” (RL)
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