Over an hour after the game with all the Giants long gone in the venue, Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao, his staff and his players were still locked in their dugout after Game Two Friday at the Astrodome.
Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, on the other hand, dismissed his troops early but with stern reminder that they have no reason to celebrate yet. The whole Purefoods gang knows for a fact, though, that a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series doesn’t guarantee victory.
The Giants don’t need to be reminded of the recent NBA finals. They themselves have twice climbed out of a 0-2 hole to win a best-of-seven series with the latest against the Alaska Milk Aces in the Gran Matador Brandy PBA Philippine Cup Final Four.
With that in mind, the Giants are likely to continue playing with great intensity as they take on the beleaguered Barakos in Game Three of their title showdown at the Araneta Coliseum today.
"We still have a long way to go. If there’s any advantage we have right now, it’s that we need only two games and they need four games to win the series," said Gregorio.
"It’s a cliché but we’ll really take it one game at a time. We may now have a 2-0 lead but we look forward to play only Game Three Sunday," Gregorio added.
Aching to compete and win Game Three are the Barakos.
"I’m not saying we’ll easily overtake them. What I can promise is that we’ll give them a good fight," said Guiao.
With a 0-2 deficit, Guiao had their practice session Saturday spent more on review of game tapes and another round of discussions.
"We have no problem with the game. It’s not about the X’s and O’s. It’s about desire and determination. Talong-talo kami sa desire," said Guiao.
"In Game One, we competed only in the second half, and in Game Two we only competed in the first half. We have to find ways to match their desire and motivation," Guiao added.
Remaining confident they can solve their woes and salvage the series is assistant coach Rhoel Nadurata. "Miami Heat ang pangalan namin after the series," said Nadurata, hinting they would duplicate Miami’s feat in the NBA.
But, no doubt, it’s easier said than done.
In a repeat of their Game One win, the Giants got off to a strong start, blew a big lead but regrouped to score a 93-82 win in Game Two Friday at the Astrodome.
"The game will be played in spurts. The team which will get frustrated will lose the game," said Gregorio.
Showing great character, the Giants kept their poise and composure under tremendous pressure to move within two wins of a fourth All-Filipino crown.