The Rain or Shine (ROS) Elastopainters have continued to keep their upper hand in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals after defeating the Magnolia Hotshots once again for a 2-0 win-loss standing last Sunday, April 14 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The score ended at 93-80 with ROS banking 16 out of 37 three-pointers throughout the entire Game Two of the best-of-seven series. Because Maverick Ahanmisi was not present at the venue due to injury, Ed Daquioag stepped up in his place with 19 points. Norbert Torres, on the other hand, set the tone in the first quarter, scoring 13 of his 16 points, in the starting ten minutes of the match. Rey Nambatac and Gabe Norwood delivered double digits as well, at 12 points and 10 points respectively. For Magnolia, it was Ian Sangalang and Robert Herndon who were the top scorers with 13 points each, while usual top-scorer Paul Lee was held to only 12 points. Mark Barroca, Justin Melton, and Jio Jalalon were all limited to an only 4-out-of-21 percentage as well.
In response to their win, Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia shared, “We just started the game on fire. Norbert began hitting his shots and that threw them off,” adding, “I think we’re able to limit their guards. We were able to slow them down today. In order for us to win this series, we have to be consistent in being a good defensive team.” Coach Caloy also spoke about Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero choosing to sit out his first-stringers during the last part of the game, saying in a mix of English and Filipino, “It was a good strategy on their part. So, I went along with it as well so at least we can give opportunities to our other players.”
In conclusion, Coach Caloy stated, “I think it’s all about trusting each other. If you noticed, we rarely used some of our players in the eliminations, but we always tell them to be ready.”
Game Three for the two teams, which will reveal who enters the finals, will be next Tuesday, April 16 at the same venue.