Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao in the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs. –PBA IMAGES
Coach Yeng Guiao described Rain or Shine’s entry to the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup as a crowning achievement for arguably the league’s true independent team.
“In one minds, we feel like we’re already champions,” Guiao said after the Elasto Painters earned the right to face the San Miguel Beermen by defeating the TNT Tropang Giga in the deciding game of their best-of-three quarterfinals Wednesday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The 110-109 victory sparked by Gian Mamuyac’s 25 points gave Rain or Shine its first semis appearance since the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. It’s also the first since Guiao made his Elasto Painters homecoming in 2022.
READ: PBA: Rain or Shine ousts TNT to set up semis duel vs San Miguel
But Rain or Shine will be hard-pressed in its quest to make the Finals against a juggernaut of a team in San Miguel, anchored by June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez and a very strong supporting cast.
San Miguel, however, came off a quarterfinal matchup with underdog Terrafirma, which forced a rubber match before the Beermen showed their dominance by getting a 110-91 victory.
Asked if Terrafirma’s run can draw inspiration in its ambitious bid to beat San Miguel, Guiao immediately gave a realistic answer.
READ: PBA: Old reliable Beau Belga still flourishing for Rain or Shine
“We learned that it’s hard to beat San Miguel,” he said. “Man-for-man, they have the advantage. They have the playoff experience, we don’t.
“But we want San Miguel to feel all the pressure. There’s no pressure on us,” Guiao added.
Rain or Shine bucked a 0-4 start to reach the quarters as the fifth seed, though it needed to overcome a Game 1 defeat to TNT to prevail in the best-of-three affair.
Mamuyac, Jhonard Clarito, Santi Santillan and Keith Datu were among the keys in the triumph as Rain or Shine was able to get almost everyone involved and pick up where Beau Belga left off.
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Belga’s offensive production dipped in the series after taking a more-prominent role in the eliminations. But Belga and the Elasto Painters would rather be content with how the end product came out.