Painters survive Dyip scare and Guiao says close games ‘not sustainable’
Rain or Shine endured some scary moments in both halves before taking down Terrafirma, 106-91, that restored its hold on a share of the lead in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
The victory that put them a 4-1 to equal the records of NLEx and TNT, however, may be pleasing to the eyes, but coach Yeng Guiao stressed that they need to get results on their own effort, rather than rely on certain interventions.
“We cannot win close games every time,” Guiao said. “If we rely on breaks or we rely on getting lucky, there will be a day that luck won’t be on our side.”
Guiao and the Elasto Painters came into the contest riding high on their incredible 19-point comeback against the Titan Ultra Giant Risers that ended on four free throws from Anton Asistio that won the game. And because of that, they were favored to take down the Dyip handily.
But Terrafirma kept the contest close for the first two quarters until Rain or Shine went on a run before the half to go ahead at the break up by 15.
Rain or Shine then squandered that gap, and Terrafirma even went up by three late in the third. Good thing for the Painters, Santi Santillan rose to the occasion once more and put up 16 points in the final period to avoid a meltdown.
Santillan finished with 26 points as Rain or Shine posted its best start since a similar win-loss slate in the 2020 Philippine Cup. But this one comes with massive tests ahead.
The Painters will have three games in November, starting with the Phoenix Fuel Masters on Wednesday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, followed by the Road Warriors on Nov. 8 in Antipolo and the Tropang 5G on Nov. 15 in Cagayan de Oro City.
“The Meralco game (when Rain or Shine erased a 16-point deficit to win in overtime) and the Titan game were escape acts,” Guiao said. “But we cannot rely on those kinds of results because it’s not sustainable.”
Keith Datu had 12 points and six rebounds, Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti contributed 11 points and six assists while Jhonard Clarito added 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Elasto Painters, now the winners of three straight games.
Terrafirma fell to a tie at the bottom of the standings with Titan at 1-4, spoiling the 25-point showing of Jerrick Ahanmisi.
Magnolia was playing Phoenix at press time, aiming at rejoining TNT, NLEx and Rain or Shine at the top.
The Hotshots paraded their new acquisition in rookie Chris Koon, the fourth pick in last month’s Draft who was dealt from the Giant Risers after just five games.
