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Games today
(Cuneta Astrodome)
5:00 p.m.- Ginebra vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m.- San Miguel vs. Burger King
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the San Miguel Beermen shoot for crucial 2-0 leads when they play their respective semifinal foes today in the 34th PBA Fiesta Conference at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Elasto Painters tackle the defending champions Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in the first game while the Beermen clash with the Burger King Whoppers in the nightcap.
Rain or Shine was impressive in its first-ever semifinal game when it humbled Ginebra, 101-95, last Wednesday where it clawed back from a 14-point third quarter deficit en route to drawing first blood in their race-to-four duel.
“It's about heart and hard work,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia told pba.ph. “We lost again Sol Mercado and Ryan Arana to injury but we hung in there, relying on hard work specially on defense in the second half.”
Rob Wainwright led Rain or Shine’s big win by finishing with a team-high 20 points. Gabe Norwood added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while import Jai Lewis submitted 14 markers and 16 rebounds.
San Miguel, on the other hand, had an easy time dispatching the Whoppers, 102-87, to take its own 1-0 series lead.
The Beermen showed no signs of rustiness in their first game after a three and a half week-break as the game was only close in the early going when San Miguel settled for a slim 24-22 after the first 12 minutes of play.
“We had a hard time picking up our rhythm in the early going but the players just went through it and everything fell into place,” San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.
Tanquingcen, however, expects a different battle in the remainder of the series.
“This is just one game. Knowing (Burger King) coach Yeng (Guiao) I’m sure he’ll prepare his team for the next game. They (Whoppers) just came off from a tough quarterfinal series with Sta. Lucia so understandably they didn’t have the time to prepare for Game 1,” he said.
