AZ Reid admits Rain or Shine `gave away' semis series opener to Alaska

ARIZONA Reid didn’t hide his disappointment that Rain or Shine “gave away” Game One of its PBA Governors Cup semifinals series to Alaska.

The sweet-shooting import out of High Point said the Elasto Painters’ three turnovers inside the last two minutes pretty much summarized the team’s inability to execute in the endgame, allowing the Aces to escape with a 97-93 win on Friday night.

“We gave the game away in the end. We didn’t want to win. I mean, turnover after turnover after turnover. Like six turnovers, and three in the last two minutes,” said an obviously disappointed Reid after the game.

“We gave them (Aces) open shots and we gave them a lot of free throws.”

Reid, who finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, felt Rain or Shine’s frontline failed to defend the paint well, resulting to numerous easy baskets inside by Alaska import Henry Walker, along with big men Sonny Thoss and Vic Manuel.

“We gave them freebies. Our big men played terrible. All of us, Beau (Belga), Jervy (Cruz), Larry (Rodriguez). Our big men played awful, that’s the story of the game,” he added.

A quick look at the stats showed Rain or Shine failed to keep Alaska from dominating the boards, leading to the Aces’ 21-12 advantage on offensive rebounds.

Walker, Thoss, and Manuel each had four or more offensive rebounds, leading to the Aces’ 14-4 lead on second chance points.

Despite being down, 0-1 in the best-of-five semifinal series, the 6-foot-3 Rain or Shine import said the Elasto Painters will have to execute better come Sunday prevent the Aces from taking a two-games-to-none lead.