Injuries take toll on Painters in Game 4; Cruz may return in Game 5
Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Rain or Shine can breathe that sigh of relief.
Jericho Cruz, who was stretchered off in the waning seconds of Game 3 after hurting his left knee, could suit up on Wednesday in the pivotal Game 5 of the best-of-seven semifinals series between the Elasto Painters and the San Miguel Beermen.
“Ready ako next game kung palalaruin ako ni coach,” Cruz told INQUIRER.net after Rain or Shine fell, 105-92, on Monday night as San Miguel tied the series, 2-2.
“The good news is there are no major damages on his knee,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who added that Cruz hyperextended his knee. “It will be just up to him if he wants to play on Wednesday I will use him and if his doctor will recommend he can play then we will play him. We need him.”
Guiao admitted the Painters sorely missed the services of Cruz and the loss of second-year guard also affected the way his team played on the offensive end.
“We did not run as much as we wanted in this game. We would have wanted to run, we kind of missed Jericho there. He’s probably our best finisher in transition and he couldn’t contribute today,” Guiao said.
Cruz joined Raymond Almazan (ankle) on the Rain or Shine sidelines and two key players’ absence was too big of a challenge to hurdle especially with San Miguel scoring inside and out with June Mar Fajardo dominant anew and Marcio Lassiter rediscovering his shooting touch.
“We got out-rebounded terribly and we’re missing Raymond in that department. If you lose by that many rebounds. there’s no way we can win the game,” lamented Guiao, whose squad only had 37 rebounds as compared to the Beermen’s 59.
Almazan, who sprained his ankle in practice ahead of Game 3, has already been ruled out for the rest of the series, but despite the injuries, Rain or Shine remains confident about its chances.
“Every time na may mawawala sa team namin, may nag-step up. Kanina, si (Don) Trollano. Feeling ko next game, may mag-step up ulit,” said Cruz.
The rookies led Rain or Shine with Don Trollano and Maverick Ahanmisi scoring 15 points apiece in a losing effort.
“Hindi kami one-man team. Si Paul nga, nawala sa amin pero nakaya namin. Walang problema sa amin yun at makakagawa naman ng adjustment si coach,” said Almazan, referring to star guard Paul Lee, who did not see action this season until the semifinals due to a knee injury.
Guiao, too, still likes his team’s chances against the defending champion even after a bad loss in Game 4.
“It’s still a good series. We still have a great chance in this series considering if you look at the record we practically beat them four times already. We beat them in the elimination round, we lost a 22-point lead in Game 1, we beat them in Game 2, we beat them in Game 3 so we know we can beat them,” he said.
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