Don’t shed a tear for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
“We’re not trying to stop their Grand Slam,” said Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao to anyone who’d listen. “We only want to win a championship for ourselves. We don’t want to make their fans sad. We just want to make ours happy.”
This was the Elasto Painters’ battle cry, if you can even call it that. It was a clear picture of what goes on in their psyche. They’re not about being as good as the other teams. They’re not about spending as much or having as many big names as those teams under big corporations.
All the Painters wanted to be is the absolute best they can be, regardless of how this would compare to the other teams.
“Kung hanggang dito na lang tayo, e ‘di hanggang dito na lang tayo,” Guiao shouted at his boys in the third quarter of Game 4 amidst a searing San Mig run. “Pero huwag niyong papabayaan na matalo tayong hindi niyo binibigay lahat.”
They won that ball game to force a decider and in the dying moments of Game 5 Guiao watched as his Painters gave it their all. He watched as his rag-tag band of ‘barya-barya’ players took the Mixers to their absolute limit only to come out painfully short.
Paul Lee was visibly distraught. He knew he had the chance to put the pressure on the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers.
With less than 40 seconds left in the game and facing a three-point deficit, Gabe Norwood took the ball strong to the hoop, attracting four defenders. He quickly kicked it out to Jeff Chan. San Mig’s defense reacted to the pass by scrambling to defend the lefty shooter.
Chan passed up a shot to give the ball to Lee for a much better look. Lee was all alone. His defender, Marc Pingris, was at least three steps away.
Earlier in the game, Lee completely lost Pingris with a beautiful crossover-step-back combo. He swished a triple after that pretty move and that shot was infinitely more difficult that the one he was about to take.
Paul Lee from the corner….NO!
He missed. He must’ve made that shot a thousand times before. He made a living off making big shots like this. From the UAAP to the D-League to the PBA, he turned from into the LEEthal Weapon because he was never afraid to take the kill shot. But he missed. Someway, somehow he missed. Lee struggled to get a grip of the situation as Norwood fouled James Yap.
It was a perfect play for Rain or Shine. Lee took the shot with about 30 seconds left in the clock. If he made it, the Painters will have one more shot in the game whatever the Mixers did in their possession. Missing it felt like losing the championship for his team.
Lee bowed down, wiped his face, and stared at the monitor to look at the replay, trying perhaps to pinpoint where he went wrong. The video gave him no comfort. The form was perfect. The release was perfect. He had more than enough time to shoot before his defender’s late challenge. An inch south and that shot would have rattled in but it didn’t. He couldn’t do anything but vent out his frustration. He kicked the barricade, splashing water to those sitting in the front row.
You’ll have to forgive Paul Lee for his actions. He wanted nothing else but to win this championship.
He is already a PBA champion in name but he wasn’t there on the floor when the Painters won their first title two years ago against this same opponent. In this series, he was second to Arizona Reid in terms of output for Rain or Shine. Before Game 5, the discussion among members of the media was that the Finals MVP would go either to Lee or Yap, depending on the winner.
The Painters had three more shots at tying the ball game but their shots refused to fall. Lee and the rest of the Painters could do nothing else but look on as the Mixers celebrated their Grand Slam.
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a championship-caliber team. It just so happened that they made the finals twice in a year when the Mixers were simply playing better than anyone else.
But don’t shed a tear for these Painters. They don’t need your pity.
They’re a relatively young team and their upside is still high. Among the top contenders, only they can reload well in the upcoming 2014 PBA Rookie Draft. After getting the third pick in last year’s draft, they’ll get the second pick for this one after another savvy trade.
Only the Painters under Guiao have the know-how to build a contender while constantly reloading for the future. Teams such as Talk ‘N Text and Meralco have spent most of their first round picks on trades. Teams like Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer have all the resources but can’t seem to turn it into a championship run.
If the Grand Slam winning Mixers are the epitome of what a PBA team should be in this current era, then the Painters are the best bet to reach that level soon.
If San Mig’s formula of keeping players together, letting them mature, and allowing the head coach to make all personal decisions is the path towards a championship, then Rain or Shine is the only team travelling that road too.
It sucks to lose a championship when it was already so close you could taste it. But the Rain or Shine family shouldn’t worry. They’ll surely get one soon.
