Guiao: ‘I’m still very positive we will win this championship’

MANILA, Philippines – After letting slip two chances to close out the series and win the title, head coach Yeng Guiao still remains optimistic Rain or Shine will emerge victorious against the surging Alaska in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

“I’m still very positive we will win this championship. I will not dare make any more predictions, except that in the end, we will win this one,” Guiao told reporters, emerging from the locker room about two hours after Game 5 ended.

“We’re still in a good place. We have two chances to win a championship. We will still keep making the adjustments, that’s the advantage you get when you’re up 3-0. We’ll make use of that advantage, of having the luxury of doing the adjustments until we get it right.”

The Painters dropped Game 5, 86-78, in what was their lowest output in 4 conferences as the Aces clawed on them defensively. They now hold a 3-2 advantage after leading 3-0, but with momentum on the side of Alaska heading into Game 6 on Wednesday, May 18.

Guiao rued his team’s 28 fouls, which resulted to 23-of-27 free throws for Alaska, while Rain or Shine had just 8-of-11 makes from the stripe.

Guiao voiced his displeasure with the officiating, saying they will seek clarification from the Commissioner’s Office Monday.

“I didn’t feel that all those fouls were fouls,” he said, citing a particular instance where Beau Belga was whistled for a foul on Calvin Abueva in an offensive rebound situation.

“All the refs are hypnotized by the acting job put up by Abueva. Pag kami binangga, flop, pag sila umarte, foul kami. Sobrang dami ng foul namin at ng free throws nila, hindi lang ng game na ito, pati Game 4.“

(When they bump us, it’s a flop, if they act it out, we get the foul. We had so many fouls and they had so many free throws not just in this game but in Game 4.)

Alaska had 41 free throw attempts in Game 4, of which they made 27, as Rain or Shine was called for 38 fouls. Alaska was not too far behind with 35 fouls while Rain or Shine went 26-of-32 from the line.

Rain or Shine fell victim to Alaska’s vaunted defense in Game 5 and they were limited to 78 points, the team’s lowest in over a year.

Only Jeff Chan and Paul Lee broke into double figures with 17 and 16 points, respectively. But usual suspects, including import Pierre Henderson-Niles, who had just 6 points on 3-of-9 field goals, were saddled with foul trouble.

Rookie Maverick Ahanmisi, who credited Alaska’s defense, went from a career-high 30-point game to just one point Sunday night.

(IN VINES: Alaska lives to fight another day after Game 5 win)

“We’re all still positive,” veteran Chan said in Filipino. “We need only one game. Hopefully we get the right adjustment.”

Chan admitted the Aces had better intensity knowing it was a do-or-die affair for them. He said they, too, should play with that mindset, clean up mistakes, and find their shooting stroke once more.

Rain or Shine will attempt to let the balloons fall on Wednesday in Game 6 and finally clinch that first trophy in 4 years.

“Hindi kami pwedeng mag-give up, (We can’t give up)” said Belga, who blamed himself after the game, saying he made a lot of “stupid mistakes.”

“Ginusto namin ‘tong position na ‘to. Kung mag-give up kami, sana nung bago pa pumasok ng quarters nagpa-eliminate na kami.” (We wanted to be in this position. If we were just going to give up, we should have just gotten ourselves eliminated before the quarterfinals.)

“You have to claim it at this point, this championship. I told the players, Alaska now has the momentum, but it doesn’t mean they can run over us and totally take over that momentum,” added Guiao.

“They are still in a bad place, and we are still in a good place. We still have two chances to win this championship, they still have to beat us twice, we just have to beat them once.” – Rappler.com