BRACING FOR ANOTHER THRILLER
ONE should expect the rest of the PBA Governors’ Cup championship series to remain the gut-wrencher it has turned out to be.
No less than coach Tim Cone believes so, explaining why he wants his San Mig Super Coffee crew to brace for a tougher grind ahead against Rain or Shine, beginning with Saturday’s Game 3 of the PLDT Home Telpad-sponsored duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Mixers are gunning to regain momentum lost while the Elasto Painters are aiming to build one of their own going to the last three games of the best-of-five duel.
No little thanks to Best Import awardee Arizona Reid’s second half explosion, including a go-ahead dagger of a triple, Rain or Shine fashioned an 89-87 overtime win last Thursday that bounced it back from a heartbreaking 101-104 loss in the opener.
Too big a fan of the game himself, Cone can’t help but appreciate how the series has turned out while expressing only a little disappointment a day after the loss.
“Rain or Shine made all the big shots in Game 2 this time and we didn’t respond well…. Just the opposite of what happened in Game 1,” said the 17-time champion tactician.
“Two tough, very close games,” added Cone. “I’m not expecting anything less in Game 3.”
Rain or Shine counterpart Yeng Guiao couldn’t agree more. “We are preparing for a harder battle. The series is getting tighter,” he said, while baring a little of what he expects San Mig to do.
“AZ (Reid) has been carrying the battle for us and I expect that they’re going to gang up on him,” said Guiao of the reinforcement who has so far been averaging 32 points and 14.5 rebounds in the series.
“We have to have our locals ready and not rely on AZ carrying us on his shoulders. Everybody else must step up, especially the rest of the bench,” stated Guiao.
The six-time champion coach, who is aiming to give the franchise back the title it won two seasons ago, also said Paul Lee is fit enough to play, even though the star playmaker did not practice Friday to rest his left ankle sprained in overtime of Game 2.
Guiao is still left with a lot of other concerns, however, foremost of which is his team free throw shooting that saw the E-Painters miss 13 of 23 charity attempts.
“I hope we do not shoot that badly in a close match. Those are very important points. We have to focus on making the most out of those opportunities. We cannot miss,” stressed Guiao.
Game 1 hero James Yap and Marqus Blakely are also major worries for Guiao. The two-time MVP has been averaging 18 points in the series.
“The last two games James has been hurting us. We’ll try to see if we can minimize his effectivity. He’s really been a thorn in our side,” said Guiao.
Blakely has so far been quiet with 13.5 points and 14 rebounds, but Guiao knows last year’s Best Import awardee could explode anytime.
“We cannot take him for granted. He could score anywhere from 20 to 25 points in a game, so we’re not letting our guards down on him,” said the coach. (NC)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
