Now, Welcoat eyes sweep vs Fash Detergent

Suddenly, the Welcoat Paint Masters are thinking about a sweep.

After a lopsided victory in the series opener, coach Leo Austria and his Paint Masters are now looking for a possible shutout of their Fash Liquid Laundry Detergent counterparts in their best-of-five showdown for the PBL Platinum Cup championship.

Game Two is set at 3:30 p.m. at the San Juan Gym.

"Before the finals, our chance for a sweep is very minimal. Ang tingin ko fifty-fifty kami ng Fash," said Austria moments after their 78-60 demolition of the Liquid Power Thursday at the Makati Coliseum.

"But with this victory, about 60 percent na ang chance namin kaya baka puwede na kaming mag-isip ng sweep," he added.

If Game One is any indication, there’s really reason for the Paint Masters to think about applying the broom on the Liquid Power.

For one, Fash just couldn’t find an answer to Welcoat’s bench depth and firepower. Ervin Sotto led the carnage with 18 points and 10 rebounds with fellow pro-bound players James Yap, Willie Wilson, Paul Artadi and Mac Cuan putting in significant contributions.

Secondly, Welcoat outhustled Fash with guards Artadi and Cuan putting tremendous pressure on counterparts Eugene Tan and LA Tenorio. Artadi and Cuan combined for 16 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals while Tan and Tenorio totaled only 11 markers, four caroms, four assists and a steal.

Another significant factor was the total of 20 turnovers committed by the Liquid Power which the Paint Masters parlayed into 25 big points. Welcoat had 18 turnovers but Fash scored only 13 off those errors.

"We need to minimize our turnovers if we want to stay alive in this series. We can’t afford to play sloppy again," said Fash mentor Junel Baculi.

Baculi also said his Big Three – Peter June Simon, Alian Salangsang and Rich Alvarez – has to step up for them to have a shot at leveling the series today.

Simon, Salangsang and Alvarez were big disappointments in Game One as they were held to a combined score of only 17 points, a far cry from their 36-point average before the finals. They were miserable from the field, missing 15 of their 21 attempts.