Painters achieve desired number of wins, chance to top group

Coach Yan Guao was hoping Rain or Shine could win six games to reach the Governors Cup Playoffs, and on Tuesday night he got exactly that and more.

A hero-filled team, the Elasto Painters, defeated NLEX 123-114 in overtime at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila, a victory that will come in handy when the crossover knockout phase comes around.

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“It’s a good test, a good experience. I have to learn how to win close matches,” Guiao said immediately after the win that secured her place in the quarterfinals.

With the efforts of all but one player, the Elasto Painters were able to ease the bitter feeling of their loss to Barangay Ginebra last Friday by winning again with a 6-2 record.

“What we tried to do was to stay there. I [the players] We’re going to make it a close game because, despite how good their imports are and how great the home fans are, they might tire and miss a shot, and that’s going to be our chance to catch up, and that’s what happened.”

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Springboard victory

In the overtime period, Adrian Nocum scored seven of Rain or Shine’s 13 points, backed by Aaron Fuller, who had an incredible 23 points and 25 rebounds, and Anton Assistio, who got on a roll early and finished with 25 points.

Nocum finished with 11 points, joining Jonardo Clarit, rookie Felix Remetti and Kellan Tiongson in double figures to finish the game.

NLEX looked like they might finally put an end to their three-game losing streak thanks to a near triple-double performance from new recruit Daequan Jones with 49 points and 11 rebounds and Robert Bolick with 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, but their hot shooting streak fizzled when it mattered most, and the Road Warriors fell to 3-5.

Guaio has always looked at games with a different objective and Tuesday’s win was no exception, with the winning coach feeling it was the character test his players need to get through the best-of-five quarter-finals that begin next week.

The hothead coach also feels this is the springboard his team needs as they once again face San Miguel, a team they nearly beat the last time they faced each other.

“We’ll see if we can get first place in the group. We’ll keep trying,” Guao said. “We’ll have a chance on Thursday against San Miguel.”

San Miguel is fresh off a tough battle with Barangay Ginebra where they won by 49 points.

“This is a playoff game. We’ve lost five straight games to San Miguel since the last conference. And we haven’t been able to solve June Mar Fajardo and their imports,” he said.

“It might take 16 tries before that happens, but I know it’s coming,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll find out on Thursday.” INQ