By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao felt that his team not only came out with the quarterfinals series win against Magnolia but also learned important lessons that are valuable for a young crew like them.
Against the grizzled veterans in the Hotshots that were already used to those kinds of pressure-packed games, one could hastily expect that ROS would easily fold up in the sudden-death Game 5.
But Guiao’s charges showed poise and grit to grind it out in the endgame with guys like Adrian Nocum, Jhonard Clarito and Andrei Caracut delivering the clutch hits.
“Pinaka-proud ako doon sa lumaban lang sila. They just competed. They fought it out, di sila bumigay under pressure. It’s just the fighting heart that the guys showed,” said Guiao in the aftermath of the teams series clinching 113-103 win on Saturday, Oct. 5.
It had been a physical and emotional series for Rain or Shine – from nearly losing import Aaron Fuller to an eye injury and absorbing blowout losses in their defeats to holding their own against the proven Magnolia players in Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, Ian Sangalang and Calvin Abueva and finally winning it.
“Ang laki ng tinuro sa aming leksyon nung Magnolia,” Guiao commented on the series.
“We are a young team and to beat Magnolia in Game 5, where everything is at stake, and every time they beat us tinatambakan nila kami, sa ganoong sitwasyon palang masisiraan ka na ng loob kasi kung talunin ka nila kayang kaya ka nila tambakan eh pero the guys just disregarded that. They just give it their all,” he added.
Knowing full well the caliber of Magnolia players, Guiao preached his wards to cherish and take note of their battles against the veterans of the Hotshots.
“Sabi ko panoorin niyo paano mag laro yung mga iyan kasi iyang mga yan plantsadong plantsado na yung mga laro niyan, matututo kayo diyan. Kung kaya niyo pa silang talunin mas maganda. Ang dami din nilang natutunan talaga sa mga Magnolia players,” added the veteran tactician.
Fuller, as expected, anchored Rain or Shine with 26 points and nine rebounds but Nocum and Caracut had 17 and 14 as well on top of their critical hits in the fourth.
Clarito had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Elasto Painters finally displayed the depth that allowed them to finish as top seed in the group that had powerhouses San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra.
Now on their second straight semifinals appearance, Guiao felt that the team has grown a lot in the quarters series and got them somehow better equipped when they challenge the defending champion TNT.
