RAIN OR SHINE GAINS PLAYOFFS TOP SEED, TWICE-TO-BEAT QFINALS EDGE
RAIN or Shine hurdled PJ Ramos and the rest of Kia, 119-99, Sunday to emerge as the eliminations topnotcher in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters leaned on a torrid first half sparked by Wayne Chism and an equally fiery finish anchored on Raymond Almazan to overcome Ramos’ 40-20 game and close out the eliminations with an 8-3 win-loss slate.
Overall, Rain or Shine just moved alongside Purefoods Star and Talk ‘N Text could also tie should the Tropang Texters prevail over Alaska later in the evening.
By virtue of a higher quotient, however, the E-Painters will grab the top seeding and gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals that comes with a Top 2 finish in the elims.
For Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao, however, just getting the win-once advantage is reward enough for his team, which got as far as the semifinals last year but got swept in three games by Talk ‘N Text.
“What is important for us is getting that twice-to-beat advantage,” said Guiao. “We don’t care whether we’re No. 1 or No. 2 or whichever it is we will be facing. We’ll also get a few days’ break to refresh and recover.”
The duels between the top two teams and their low two counterparts start Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The last time Rain or Shine topped the eliminations, it went on to win its first and only PBA title so far — the 2012 Governors Cup crown — but Guiao said things are different this time.
“By virtue of the quotient lang ngayon, so medyo not really like an unquestionable accomplishment,” he pointed out.
“Still, we’re No. 1, an advantage and we’ll take that,” added Guiao. “If that’s a good sign for us, we’ll take motivation from that. We’ll treat it exactly like what it is, which is a positive. We can use that as encouragement going to our preparations.”
One person certainly obsessed with taking Rain or Shine deep in the playoffs is Chism, who like this year also came in as a replacement last year before being hobbled by injuries.
Against Kia, Chism notched 28 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, with 18 of his points coming in the first half, which the E-Painters took, 71-46.
For their part the Carnival dropped to a 4-7 record and were left hoping the quotients favor them should they become involved in multiple ties for the remaining quarterfinals berths.
That despite a 45-point, 21-rebound performance by Ramos, his third 40-20 game this conference, most among all players.
LA Revilla’s 15 points and Karl Dehesa’s 10, however, were the only other double-digit outputs for the Carnival.
Guiao said it was exactly the way he wanted it.
“We had problems all night long with the size, strength and power of PJ Ramos, but I guess we were able to limit the contributions of their locals and that’s exactly why we were able to put up a good lead and protect that lead,” said Guiao, whose team once led by 27 points.
“We were able to keep the pace fast,” added Guiao. “The game was high-scoring, which was the way we wanted it. Everybody made a contribution, especially in moving the ball well and getting our shooters open. We got our shooting rhythm for the most part and that made it easy for us.”
Rain or Shine’s halftime score was a league conference-high and largely brought about when Chism opted to take all his second quarter shots from beyond the arc. For good reason as he drained all his four triple tries while Chris Tiu, Gabe Norwood and Almazan chipped in to stretch the lead to a high of 71-44.
Just when everybody thought it would be a walk in the park for Rain or Shine, Kia came charging back.
Largely behind Ramos, the Carnival chipped away at the E-Painters lead before Reil Cervantes’ back-to-back jumpers made it just an 88-96 game.
Ramos’ eight-footer kept Kia within 90-99, but Almazan came to Rain or Shine’s rescue with eight straight points that gave his team more breathing room, 107-92, and enough of a momentum for a finishing kick. (NC)
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 119 – Chism 28, Almazan 16, Lee 14, Tiu 13, Arana 13, Norwood 10, Belga 8, Tang 7, Cruz Jericho 4, Chan 4, Quinahan 2, Uyloan 0, Ibanes 0, Teng 0.
KIA 99 – Ramos 45, Revilla 15, Dehesa 10, Cervantes 9, Ighalo 8, Cawaling 2, Thiele 2, Alvarez 2, Pascual 2, Yee 2, Avenido 2, Buensuceso 0, Bartolo 0.
Quarterscores: 30-26, 71-46, 92-80, 119-99
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