SO far, the Rain or Shine-Converge PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series is living up to the hype.
With the other best-of-five series either brief or one-sided, it’s the matchup between the Elasto Painters and the FiberXers is providing the playoff atmosphere the fans expect as the league’s Season 50 nears its homestretch.
The best-of-five showdown between two independent teams is currently tied at 1-1 after the FiberXers managed to survive a comeback by the Elasto Painters in Game 2 prior to the Halloween break, 130-125.
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao expects the series to be tightly fought the rest of the way, which he jokingly referred to as the ‘Battle of Pampanga.’
Both Guiao and Converge counterpart Gov. Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda are prominent personalities in Pampanga who once belonged to the same political party.
“Yung series namin ang mukhang maganda, pinaka-magandang panoorin. At yun naman ang gusto natin, ang ma-entertain ang mga fans. So we’re just trying to do our part,” said the Rain or Shine coach.
“It’s an enjoyment and a treat for the fans,” added Guiao, who noted the other series appeared to be lopsided. “Yung attention (ng mga fans) mapupunta dun sa series namin dahil maikli yung series ng iba. Yung sa amin, hahaba pa ito.”
For the record, the Ginebra versus San Miguel playoff is the only other quarterfinals series being disputed, with the Kings leading, 2-0.
The other head-to-head collisions were already decided on Saturday – with top seed NLEX disposing of Phoenix in three games, and defending champion TNT doing the same against Magnolia.
The quarterfinals will resume on Nov. 3 in Dasmarinas City, Cavite.
Guiao expects Game 3 to pick off from where the series left off during the first two games, which started with the Elasto Painters overhauling a 21-point deficit in the series opener to pull off a close 124-120 win.
“I think this is where the series is expected anyway,” added the champion coach after the team fell short of duplicating the same second-half comeback in Game 2.
“This series is far from being decided, so may tatlong laro pa. Naging best-of-three na siya. But the good thing is we’re in it and we have a good chance of pulling through.”
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