Yeng: Game 6 virtual do-or-die

As hot Aces claim 2nd win in title series 

Game tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

7 p.m. – Alaska vs Rain Or Shine

MANILA, Philippines - The impact of back-to-back losses and the gnawing desire to end a long title slump have apparently put a dent on the once unwavering confidence of the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters.

They’re beginning to feel the pressure, allowing the Alaska Milk Aces to close in at 2-3 in their Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven championship showdown.

The Painters feel the momentum shift and vow to finish the Aces in Game Six tomorrow or face taller odds in sudden death.

In the closing minutes of Game Five, Jeff Chan lambasted teammate Beau Belga for the whole of the Big Dome to hear; the usually mild-mannered Gabe Norwood lost his cool, engaging Calvin Abueva in a verbal tussle; and Belga was unusually quiet as he left the venue.

Coach Yeng Guiao and his staff took almost two hours for a post-game talk before coming out of the dugout.

Guiao later said Game Six is a virtual must-win game for his team as they can’t afford to play Alaska Milk in a winner-take-all setto.

“Our last chance to win it is going to be in Game Six. Wednesday’s (tomorrow) game will be do-or-die for us,” said Guiao.

“The window is getting smaller for us. If we let the momentum build up and take this to a Game Seven, then definitely their confidence is going to be sky high and their momentum is going to be a lot stronger,” Guiao pointed out.

Guiao and his chargers said they blew their shots at closing the series on Friday and Sunday simply by not playing smart.

“We’re not playing smart enough. We’re giving up too many free throws. (In Game Five), we gave up 27, the last game we gave up 40-plus. I don’t know if it’s us or the refs, but there’s just too many free throws we’re giving away,” rued Guiao.

The Aces had nine more free throws than the E-Painters in Game Four and 16 more in Game Five.

“The discrepancy was big in the games that we lost. So it’s about controlling our foul situation and in summary just playing smarter. We have to be smart in order to win the crown,” said Guiao.

Belga took responsibility for their 78-86 defeat Sunday night, admitting two silly fouls he committed in the second half came as huge blows in their bid.

“On what happened between me and Calvin (Abueva), that proved to be the turning point. I’m so sorry for that. If I didn’t do that, we would’ve been celebrating the championship now,” said Belga, pointing to his deliberate foul on the Alaska workhorse that stopped ROS momentum in the third.

With over four minutes left, Belga fouled out on another ill-advised infraction. Chan didn’t hide his disappointment as Belga was heading to their bench.

“Sabi ko sa sarili ko ‘ang bobo mo (I told myself you’re an idiot, Belga. Those were stupid mistakes,” Belga admitted.

“But we’re not giving up. We don’t put ourselves in this situation only to lose it. We have to curve out the series or it would be a painful loss for us,” Belga added.

“We have to play smart. We have to get back our own running game and we have to regain our shooting,” said Chan.

Those were two factors taken away from them by the Aces in the last two games.

Rain or Shine impressed with averages of 13.3 three-pointers and 14.3 fastbreak points in the first three games. In Games Four and Five, the E-Painters were held to only 7.5 triples and 3.5 fastbreak points.

Alaska coach Alex Compton said they just rediscovered their usual selves in the last two games. “How I wish we played the same earlier,” he said.

The Aces put up their best defensive effort the last time, holding the E-Painters to their lowest output in over a year in an 86-78 triumph.

“I’m disappointed. I was hoping that it was the best time for us to win the championship,” said Guiao.

With the series extended to another game, Guiao and his wife Jenny had to cancel their supposed trip to London. “Our kids are going home. We’re not able to catch up with them,” said Mrs. Guiao.