Games on Wednesday
(MOA Arena)
5 p.m. – Ginebra vs San Miguel (Semis Game 4)*
7:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs TNT (Semis Game 4)*
* Ginebra and TNT lead series, 2-1
ONE win away or back to square one?
Going down 1-3 in a race-to-four is an extremely difficult predicament to get out of and win, especially against high-caliber opponents like grand slam-seeking TNT and Barangay Ginebra.
Thus Rain or Shine (ROS) and the San Miguel Beermen are hell-bent on preventing the Tropang 5G and the Gin Kings, respectively, from burying them to such a deep hole in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series.
Instead, the Elasto Painters and the Beermen are plotting to force a stalemate with their respective rivals at 2-2 in tonight’s Game 4 hostilities at the MOA Arena.
After conceding the first two matches, ROS broke through against TNT last Sunday, 107-86, pouncing on the absence of Tropang 5G rifleman RR Pogoy (hamstring injury).
“Our best chance is to make this series long,” said E-Painters coach Yeng Guiao, whose youth-laden charges are determined to break TNT’s stranglehold after 1-4 losses in the semis of the previous Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup.
“If it becomes a short series, we lose. So at least we win (Game 3); we know it’s going to five games. If we win (Game 4), it’s going to six games. The longer we stretch it, the better for us.”
TNT counterpart Chot Reyes underscored the importance of matching ROS’ intensity — something that was lacking in their previous defeat.
“Rain or Shine came out and wanted the game so much more. They were a lot more aggressive and we were not able to match it. Evidence — we took three free throws the whole game. We lack aggressiveness, I guess,” he said.
The Beermen, meanwhile, found themselves trailing the Gin Kings after a 90-100 setback in the Game 3 tiebreaker.
Ginebra, runnerup to TNT in the first two conferences of the Season 49, braces for San Miguel’s fightback.
“We know San Miguel, they’re a veteran team, they know what to do coming from a loss. So we just have to be ready sa Game 4,” said Gin Kings ace Scottie Thompson. — Olmin Leyba