Rain or Shine repulses late San Mig Coffee rally, moves one win away from finals

InterAKTV · Thursday, December 27, 2012 · 8:59 pm

PBA/Nuki Sabio

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters turned back a late charge by the San Mig Coffee Mixers to pull out an 83-74 victory over the San Mig Coffee Mixers Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Game Four of their Philippine Cup semifinals series.
The win gave the Elasto Painters a 3-1 series lead, just one victory away from their first Philippine Cup finals appearance in franchise history.
There were many heroes for Rain or Shine, including Ronnie Matias, who got key baskets and offensive rebounds late in the game to help preserve the win.
“Ronnie Matias just hustled his way to become the best player of the game,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao about Matias, who finished with eight points and five rebounds. Six of those points came in the fourth quarter, when San Mig Coffee charged back from an 18-point deficit to cut the lead to just three points.
“Si Coach Yeng, sabi sa ‘min unahin muna namin yung depensa kesa sa opensa. Mananalo talaga kami sa depensa,” said Matias.
Guiao said he chewed out Matias in the locker room at halftime after several lapses in the first half while defending against San Mig Coffee superstar James Yap, who led all scorers with 20 points.
“Nakawala si James nang dalawang beses sa kanya. When he came back, he more than made up for mistakes,” said Guiao.
Rain or Shine won despite a sub-par game from Paul Lee, who scored just two points.
“Paul Lee played horribly but other guys stepped up,” said Guiao, who had five players scoring at least eight points. Gabe Norwood led Rain or Shine with 15 points, including a gorgeous reverse alley-oop slam in the second quarter off a pass by Chris Tiu.
“Any time others are not able to contribute, then others will contribute.”
Rain or Shine looked like it had the game in the bag, taking a 54-36 third quarter lead. But the Mixers came roaring back in the fourth quarter behind Yap, Peter June Simon, and Joe Devance. A three-pointer by Simon cut the lead to 77-74 with under a minute remaining in the game, but timely defensive stops allowed the Elasto Painters to score the final six points of the match, all from Tiu.
“It’s a big win for us because now we get three chances to make the finals,” said Guiao, whose team will have a chance to finish the series Saturday.
The scores:
Rain or Shine 83 — Norwood 14, Arana 13, Chan 12, Tiu 10, Matias 8, Cruz 6, Belga 6, Rodriguez 4, Quinahan 3, Ibanes 3, Lee 2, Tang 2.
San Mig Coffee 74 — Yap 20, Simon 15, Devance 14, Pingris 7, Ramos 5, Reavis 4, De Ocampo 4, Barroca 3, Gaco 2, Villanueva 0.
Quarters: 18-10, 40-32, 62-52, 83-74

Yeng Guiao wants Rain or Shine to finish series with San Mig Coffee on Saturday

InterAKTV · Thursday, December 27, 2012 · 9:21 pm

AKTV/Paolo Papa

After taking a 3-1 series lead against the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the Philippine Cup semifinals, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters have three chances to book a finals ticket.
But if it were up to coach Yeng Guiao, Rain or Shine would use just one game to eliminate the Mixers.
“Our plan is to finish it off on Saturday,” Guiao said shortly after his team’s 93-84 victory over San Mig Coffee Thursday.
“Kung kaya namin tapusin, tatapusin na namin. Habang tumatagal, mas delikado.”
The Elasto Painters were in a similar situation last season, when it faced the same team in the Governors’ Cup finals. The team then known as the B-MEG Llamados forced a Game Seven against Rain or Shine after falling behind 3-1 in the series. The Elasto Painters prevailed in the final match to take the title.
Guiao hopes there would be no such complications this time around.
“That can very well happen if we become complacent,” said Guiao. “We will make sure that we are ready mentally in the next game.”
The coach noted that Rain or Shine’s edge in depth has been wearing down San Mig Coffee.
“They’re just forced to play their key players many minutes. James Yap was forced to play 42 minutes. Peter June Simon played 34 minutes, Marc Pingris played 34 minutes,” said Guiao.
In contrast, Gabe Norwood topped Rain or Shine at just 32 minutes.
“We’re fresher, we’re sharper,” said Guiao.
The Elasto Painters won despite getting just two points from star guard Paul Lee, who shot just 1-of-7 from the field. Five players scored at least eight points for Rain or Shine to fill the void.
Guiao said the mental part is the biggest issue for the Elasto Painters, who could close out the series in Game Five on Saturday.
“Pwede pa rin mag-iba kung pababayaan, pero ‘di na namin pababayaan to,” he said.

Off-Game James: Rain or Shine effort, smarts, luck add up to Yap’s miserable performance

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Wednesday, December 26, 2012 · 4:28 pm

AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan

It took effort and intelligence combined with a little bit of luck.
That was how Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao explained how his team was able to hold the deadly James Yap to just six points on 1-of-11 shooting on Christmas Day, allowing the Elasto Painters to cruise to a 98-72 victory in Game Three of their Philippine Cup semifinals series.
“Jireh Ibañes, Gabe Norwood and Ryan Araña really committed themselves to playing defense against James. Wala namang special formula except that these guys are intelligent enough and knows how to defend James properly. They just showed extra effort on defense in Game Three, especially after James erupted in Game Two,” said Guiao.
“We defended well. On the other hand, he was having an off night as well. Maybe the law of averages caught up with him because it’s hard to follow up a game where you played fantastic.”
Yap’s miserable performance came just a game after he sizzled for 34 points in Game Two, which the Mixers won, 106-82.
After the woeful outing, Guiao said he remains wary of Yap’s capacity to explode.
“You can’t just put anybody who’s quick enough to defend him. You need intelligent defenders to defend against an intelligent player like James Yap,” said Guiao.
“Si James, matalino siya because he knows how to use the screens properly and he has the special ability to catch off guard his defenders.”
Guiao expects Yap to continue to be a key to the series.
“San Mig Coffee knows that its best chance of winning is for James to score more, while our chances of winning is to try and stop him from producing more points.”


Source:InterAKTV

Yeng Guiao sees Rain or Shine depth wearing out San Mig Coffee

InterAKTV · Tuesday, December 25, 2012 · 8:17 pm

AKTV/Paolo Papa

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao acknowledges that San Mig Coffee may have more superstar talent, but he believes his deeper bench will end up making the different in their best-of-seven Philippine Cup semifinals series.
“The longer the series goes, we’re fresher than they are,” Guiao said shortly after his team’s masterful 98-72 victory over the Mixers at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Christmas Day.
“We have more stoppers than they have scorers.”
This seemed especially true in the case of San Mig Coffee superstar James Yap, who was held to just six points on miserable 1-of-11 shooting from the field. The Elasto Painters rotated a physical cast of defenders composed of Jireh Ibañes, Gabe Norwood, and Ryan Araña on the Mixers’ two-time Most Valuable Player, who was coming off a 34-point explosion in Game Two.
Guiao noted that San Mig Coffee’s top four players — James Yap, Peter June Simon, Marc Pingris, and Joe Devance — usually play heavy minutes, giving the Elasto Painters’ depth more value as the games pile up.
“We’re able to run more, we’re able to pressure more,” said Guiao.
The coach sees Game Four of the series, set Thursday at the same venue, as a huge key.
“Game Four should be the biggest game in the series,” he said. “I think if we can go up 3-1, we’ll have one foot in the door [of the finals].”
Guiao said he doesn’t plan to make major adjustments for the next match.
“The burden of adjustments shift to San Mig Coffee,” he said.

http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/yeng-guiao-sees-rain-or-shine-depth-wearing-out-san-mig-coffee

Frustration over refs’ calls doomed Rain or Shine in Game Two, says ejected Yeng Guiao

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Friday, December 21, 2012 · 9:16 pm

AKTV file/Paolo Papa

It was Yeng Guiao’s turn to lose his cool in the Philippine Cup semifinals.
The fiery Rain or Shine coach spent most of the second half of the Elasto Painters’ loss to San Mig Coffee in the SM Mall of Asia Arena press room after picking up his second technical foul in the third quarter.
The Elasto Painters suffered one of their worst losses since Guiao took over as coach, yielding a 106-82 result.
“We just got frustrated with the calls. We felt that they were allowing too much contact against us while we couldn’t defend them with the same amount of contact they were giving us,” he said.
More than James Yap’s 34-point explosion or the Mixers’ balanced attack, Guiao said the mental aspect of the game did his players in.
“The blowout was caused by the mental breakdown on our part and our frustration with the officiating,” he said.
Guiao said he doesn’t want to spend time thinking about the refereeing for the series.
“I think that’s the league’s job,” said Guiao. “Our job is to correct our mistakes. The league’s job is the officiating. Yan ang trabahong iiwanan namin sa kanila. We will correct some things, but not the referees.”


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