IT simply wasn't their night.
That's how Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao summed up Sunday's loss to Barangay Ginebra, 114-90, where they gave up 21 baskets from the three-point area and beyond on Sunday night.
The loss though had little ramifications as Rain or Shine’s fate is still in its hands as the Elasto Painters wind down their elimination round on Friday against Titan Ultra, already out of the running for a quarterfinal berth.
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A win over Titan Ultra will book them a twice-to-beat advantage, and Guiao remains confident that it can snap out of a two-game losing streak and achieve that goal on Friday.
“We are still chasing our ninth win. Hindi talaga para sa amin itong larong ito,” Guiao said.
Aside from draining 21 threes, Ginebra shot an efficient 48 percent from that distance. Overall, the Gins shot 41-of-83 from the field (49 percent) including 20-of-34 (59 percent) from twos.
The Gins even did very well from the free throw line, missing just three of their 14 attempts.
Rain or Shine shot only 37 percent (31-of-84) from the field - 1-of-6 from fours, 14-of-39 from threes, 16-of-39 from twos, and 12-of-17 from the foul line.
“They shot really well. They made 21 three-point shots, that's almost the record,” said Guiao, referring to the PBA record of 23 threes/fours in a game that Rain or Shine incidentally equalled during their April 15 game against Terrafirma.
“They were two short of the record. It's really hard to beat a team that is shooting that well,” said Guiao.
Guiao is not pushing the panic button after losing three of their last four games, saying the team's 7-0 start to the conference has given them a big margin for error.
“This is where you're benefiting from yung good start. We had a seven-game winning streak. Now, we have a margin for error. We still have one game to take our ninth win and that's against Titan. Hopefully, makabalik kami, win our ninth game and be assured of being in the Top Four,” said Guiao.
“After that, preparasyon na lang sa playoffs. We just have to move forward from this game. I don't think we could have done anything on our side. Sabi ko nga, they shot the ball really well. On our side, we couldn't execute the way we wanted to.
"I think we have to credit their defense. They played good defense on us. They really had a good game plan, executed it well. Ganun pa man, our record is still good. The only thing that is important to us is make nine wins, get a twice-to-beat, and then wait for your match-up and prepare for that. Yun lang gagawin namin,” Guiao said.
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