Guiao displeased with refs as Painters beat Elite

 

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters improved to 7-3 in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 102-98 victory over the Blackwater Elite on Friday, March 20, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

 

Granted they beat the KIA Carnival on Sunday, March 22, the win puts the Elasto Painters in good position to claim a top two seed heading into the conference playoffs. However, their head coach Yeng Guiao was displeased after the game due to the way it was officiated.

 

“I guess the referees stopped doing their jobs in the last few minutes of this game,” said Guiao, who says he saw two fouls on his import Wayne Chism go uncalled. “Kahit nanalo ka, wala kang consuelo sa panalo.”

 

(Even if we won, it was like there was no consolation.)

 

Rain or Shine looked to have sealed the game after Chism hit a triple right on the grill of Blackwater import Marcus Douthit with 5 minutes left that put his team up 95-82.

 

The lead extended to 102-88 with 2:42 to go thanks to a Chism dunk, but the Elite bounced back with a 10-0 run, a stretch in which Guiao felt Chism was fouled a number of times.

 

“Again, I don’t wish to see that this is the precursor of things to come in terms of officiating,” he said.

 

“As much as the players need to focus on the game, I guess the refs just need to focus on their jobs too, officiating this game.”

 

Blackwater shooter Val Acuna, who had a career-high 20 points in addition to 6 rebounds, hit a three-ball that cut the Elasto Painters’ lead to 102-98 as the game clock trickled down to 6 seconds left.

 

Unfortunately for the Elite, who slid to 2-8 with the loss, no one was able to foul a Rain or Shine player after Acuna’s triple to halt the clock.

 

Paul Lee contributed in a number of ways, finishing with 14 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Beau Belga recorded 11 points and 5 rebounds.

 

“We just took advantage of our import being fresher,” said Guiao, referring to the amount of rest Chism had on the bench in the first half due to foul trouble. “All game long they had to play Douthit and he was tired in the third and fourth quarters.”

 

Douthit recorded a near triple-double of 34 points, 20 rebounds, and a career-best 8 assists. Brian Heruela finished with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.

 

Rain or Shine rookie Jericho Cruz returned from a four-month absence due to a fractured ankle and put up four points in 10:41 minutes.

 

“Our luxury is we’re able to rotate our people and use our bench,” said Guiao. “We also tried to break in our injured players today – Jeric Teng, Jericho Cruz, TY Tang.”

 

“Overall, I think it’s a positive for those guys to be able to contribute for us the rest of the tournament.”

 

A win over KIA would put the Elasto Painters in prime possession to finish in the top two, which means they would get a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinal round, but other clubs – notably Purefoods, Meralco, and Talk ’N Text – are also seriously contending for a high seed.

 

“We don’t have total control of our destiny. We still have to win a game on Sunday and then hope that Meralco or TNT loses one of their games,” Guiao said.

 

“KIA is a different team now than it was [in the Philippine Cup]. They’re giant-killers and I think they still have a chance at making the next round, so it’s going to be like playing any of the top teams in this league, and I guess they’ve earned that respect coming to the game, and you’re not going to be complacent, be overconfident playing them.”

 

The Carnival’s import, PJ Ramos, is averaging 35 points and 21 rebounds a game this conference.

 

“We will have our matchup problems with their import,” said Guiao, “… but we’ll try to device something in our practice tomorrow (Saturday, March 21) for our game on Sunday.”

 

Scores:

 

RAIN OR SHINE (102) – Chism 30, Lee 14, Belga 11, Tiu 10, Norwood 8, Tang 6, Quinahan 5, Cruz Jericho 4, Almazan 4, Uyloan 3, Ibanes 2, Arana 2, Cruz Jervy 2, Chan 1, Teng 0

 

BLACKWATER (98) – Douthit 34, Acuna 20, Heruela 15, Gamalinda 11, Reyes 6, Faundo 4, Canada 2, Rodriguez 2, Celiz 2, Bulawan 2, Erram 0, Ballesteros 0, Laure 0

 

Quarter Scoring: 18-20, 46-41, 78-65, 102-98

 

– Rappler.com