Aces out to even series, avoid 2-0

MANILA, Philippines – On the eve of the national elections, Rain Or Shine and Alaska Milk slug it out in Game Two of the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven finals with the Elasto Painters seeking a follow-up to their 105-97 triumph in the series opener Friday night.

Game time is at 5 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with the Aces in a virtual must-win situation as they cannot afford to fall in a 0-2 hole versus the E-Painters who would be more focused after the poll exercise.

Curiously, the E-Painters have been on a great ride, taking the decisive head start in the series even with coach Yeng Guiao – running for reelection as representative of the first congressional district of Pampanga – handing the chores to his assistants during their practice sessions.

Guiao’s system has been ingrained to his players and clearly came to work in their eight-point drubbing of the Aces in Game One.

Working fluidly on both ends, the E-Painters hardly had trouble against the Aces’ vaunted press and were neither fazed by Rob Dozier’s PBA-best 41-point explosion.

Guards Paul Lee, Jericho Cruz, Chris Tiu, Gabe Norwood and Maverick Ahanmisi handled the Alaska press well. The team committed only 13 turnovers, with eight by big men Pierre Henderson-Niles, Raymond Almazan and Jewel Ponferada.

“We’ve been worried about their press. We know they’re the best pressing team, but we handled it pretty well. I don’t think we turned the ball over too many times. We handled the ball pretty well in the backcourt,” said Guiao.

The fiery ROS mentor mentioned their huge press break inside the final minute when they found Lee open to hit what turned out to be the game’s biggest backbreaker – a trey that made it 99-94.

“That was really sweet because you make them pay for pressing. We will push the ball every time. They know that. Everybody knows we want a fast game,” Guiao said.

Alaska coach Alex Compton made no excuses, admitting they were beaten by the E-Painters neatly.

“That’s one of the most consistent things about Rain Or Shine. You make a mistake, they make you pay. They came out and they earned it,” said Compton.

“We made mistakes to start the game and we made mistake to end the game. Everywhere in between, we were a little bit more solid,” he added. “Unless we are sharper mentally, it’s going to be a really, really tough series for us.”

The E-Painters also worked well on their halfcourt sets, firing away 14-of-27 triples as against the Aces’ 10-of-29.

“They shot 14 of 27 and they were great. That’s impressive,” said Compton.

Shooting 42-of-87 from the field overall, the E-Painters put in the biggest points allowed by the Aces in their last eight games.

Among the league’s best defensive teams, Alaska yielded an average of only 93.5 points before the series opener.

Among the key factors for the E-Painters was coach Guiao keeping fresh legs on the floor all throughout the game.

Guiao played 13 players with almost equal minutes while Compton stuck most of the time with core Calvin Abueva, Noy Baclao, Cyrus Baguio, RJ Jazul and Dozier. The only other Aces playing long minutes were Chris Banchero, Dondon Hontiveros and Sonny Thoss.