Rain: Now or tough ‘rubber’

MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine takes its third shot at the crown, hoping to keep its poise with the momentum riding on a resurgent Alaska after two straight wins.

Suddenly, it’s no longer a sleeper of a title series.

Though foiled in the last two games, Rain or Shine is keeping a positive stance and hopeful it would still reign and shine in the end.

The Elasto Painters take the first of two remaining cracks at wrapping up the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, vowing to come out with a keen resolve to write finis on the Aces’ own come-from-behind bid.

Alaska, for its part, hopes to keep its searing charge and get a crack at a 360-degree turn from losing a 3-0 series lead in the last Philippine Cup to winning a championship from a reverse position in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup.

Game Six is set at 7 p.m. with the Aces chasing history and the Elasto Painters looking to finally reach their cherished destination.

“I’m still very positive we will win this championship. I will not dare make anymore predictions, except that in the end, we will win this one,” said coach Yeng Guiao even with his team now holding a precarious 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven title playoff.

“They are still in a bad place, and we are still in a good place. We still have two chances to win this championship, and they still have to beat us twice,” Guiao also said.

“We have to beat them just once. I’m looking at it from a positive perspective,” he added.

“We are not here to make believe. We are here to believe we can make it,” Alaska Milk team manager Dickie Bachmann posted on his Facebook account, quoting Guru Singh.

Alaska has turned this series into a thriller of a showdown and come alive and lived up to its original hype as a dogfight when the Aces came out playing their usual game in the last two matches, smothering the E-Painters, 111-99, in Game Four, then repeating with an 86-78 triumph in Game Five.

“We have to claim it at this point,” said Guiao.

“If you do not make that mental resolve, you can easily lose the momentum,” Guiao pointed out. “As I told my players, Alaska now has the momentum, but it doesn’t mean they can run over us and totally take over that momentum.”

Guiao and his players agree they have to play smart if they’re to salvage the series that is slipping from their hands.

They have some issues regarding officiating raised with the league’s technical group, but they admit their own shortcomings.