Two miracles. All happened in one night.
On Saturday, Rain or Shine and TNT, two lower-seeded squads, were able to overcome a twice-to-win disadvantage to march their way back to the semifinal round in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Elasto Painters battled back from an 11-point deficit in the first half then put together all their efforts in turning back No.2 seed NLEX, 103-92, to set up a rematch of a Final Four showdown with TNT, which likewise completed beating its higher-seeded rival, Magnolia, twice capped by a thrilling 80-79 win in the other game.
“That’s what we talked about sa locker room, to just play our game, which we called ‘Buwis Buhay Basketball.’ Parang effort lang, grit lang. When there’s something going on na mali, you can’t get your rhythm in the game, just put on the effort. Just play on grit and be tough.” said Guiao.
“Doon lang namin nakuha. Pati yung first game namin, doon rin namin nakuha. We just played our brand of game. If things are not working out, just make the best effort. That’s what we did.”
Rain or Shine was beaten by NLEX in offensive rebounding, 25-14. The Road Warriors also had more points coming off the 19 turnovers of the Elasto Painters, producing 15 more points, but even then, coach Yeng Guiao and his troops were able to find ways to win on the usual efforts shown by players who were given opportunity to play.
Seven players scored eight points or more, but most notable on the effort chart were the numbers put up by Jhonard Clarito and Leonard Santillan.
For the second straight game, the smaller but hardworking Clarito outhustled his counterparts at NLEX, churning out another double-double performance of 13 points and 16 rebounds.
But Santillan also had a near complete game, missing a rebound from posting his own double-double game, but he did his team in scoring parade with 24 points to go along with nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals in a solid all-around performance.
Anton Asistio and Mike Malonzo came off the bench and tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively as Rain or Shine’s bench outplayed NLEX just as expected, producing a total of 61 points compared to the Road Warriors’ 28.
Earlier, TNT repulsed Magnolia to keep its hopes alive for a grand slam as Kelly Williams knocked in two crucial free throws while the Tropang 5G came up with a big stop in the final two seconds to escape with the win.
