RAIN OR SHINE SURVIVES PESKY BARAKO BULL
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao wasn’t going to be fooled by Barako Bull’s losing record.
And it showed why as his Elasto Painters needed a strong finishing kick to fend off the Energy, 96-93, in the 2014 PBA-PLDT Governors’ CupSaturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Barako Bull has been really tough. …They are 1-4 right now but their record doesn’t really show how good this team is,” Guiao told reporters after the game.
“They’ve been giving teams a hard time. The last time they played, I think they stretched San Miguel to overtime and they almost did that to us this game,” Guiao added.
True enough, Barako Bull again almost was able to do it but not quite as Willie Miller’s high-arching 3-pointer that would’ve forced overtime went over the outstretched arms of the lanky ROS defensive stalwart Gabe Norwood, failing to fall through the net as time ran out.
The E-Painters had to dig deep down the stretch despite leading by as much as 10 midway through the third quarter and an 11-3 run in the final five minutes of the game did the trick.
Arizona Reid’s pull-up jumper capped a 7-0 run that gave Rain or Shine a 92-90 lead with 1:43 left before Jeff Chan’s free throws made it a four-point game, 94-90, 30 seconds later.
Mick Pennisi drilled in a triple that kept Barako Bull alive, 93-94, with1:04 left. The Energy, who reeled to their fourth straight setback after winning their first game, looked to foul Paul Lee but he found an open Chan near the basket for the uncontested layup for a 96-93 cushion with 13.8 ticks left.
“We just probably had a little more experience at finishing the game as a team and that experience was put to good use. That’s the only difference,” said Guiao, whose team improved to 2-3. “Konting experience namin sa endgame but otherwise they were there all the way and they gave themselves a really good chance to win.”
Reid led Rain or Shine with 34 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while Chan and Lee finished with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Second-generation import Eric Wise collected 41 points, the second most scoring output this conference, which came with 19 rebounds and six assists in a losing effort while rookie Jeric Fortuna, who has been getting significant minutes under new head coach Siot Tanquingcen, added 14 points and seven rebounds although he had a crucial turnover that resulted in Rain or Shine taking that 94-90 cushion.
San Miguel Beer’s Reggie Williams fired 42 points in an 87-94 loss to Alaska on conference-opening day last May 18 for the most points in a game in the tourney..
“Right now we just want to get to the 50% mark winning percentage but now we’re still struggling. We haven’t really gotten our peak performance so pahirapan talaga every game,” added Guiao.
The Energy outrebounded the Painters, 60-37, and had 20 second chance points but they committed 17 turnovers that netted their opponents 21 points. (MG)
The scores: (click HERE for full boxscores)
RAIN OR SHINE 96 – Reid 34, Chan 15, Lee 12, Uyloan 8, Belga 8, Norwood 7, Almazan 4, Arana 3, Cruz 2, Rodriguez 2, Tiu 1, Tang 0, Nuyles 0, Teng 0.
BARAKO BULL 93 – Wise 41, Fortuna 14, Jensen 10, Pennisi 9, Intal 5, Wilson 4, Miller 3, Marcelo 3, Lastimosa 2, Labagala 2, Thiele 0, Buenafe 0.
Quarterscores: 26-27, 49-46, 76-72, 96-93
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