Painters start anew after catching PBA playoff bus

MANILA, Philippines -- Blank slate.

After almost being forced to take the tougher route to the quarterfinals, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are moving on from their hot-and-cold elimination round of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup as they enter the playoffs of the import-laden conference.

The Painters on Friday entered the quarterfinals after blasting the TNT Tropang Giga, 106-96.

They were able to dodge the playoff route for the eighth and final quarterfinal seed.

They were also able to avoid a twice-to-win disadvantage as they take on the third-seeded Converge FiberXers in a best-of-three affair.

After Friday’s win, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said that their struggles are now out the window as they go into deep waters.

“When it comes to quarterfinals, it's all 0-0. That means you can throw your previous record and whatever you've achieved outside of the window and everybody starts on an even slate,” he told reporters.

“So, we just achieved our objective. It’s important that we’re still alive today,” he added.

The Painters were once the hottest team in the league, winning five straight games to go up 5-1.

They then went 1-4 in their next five contests to slide to a win-loss record of 6-5.

Had they lost against the Tropang Giga, they would have faced the Magnolia Hotshots in a playoff for the eighth spot.

“As I said, it's 0-0 again. The losing streak, winning streak, it's all gone. It's all gone. It's like a new beginning,” Guiao stressed.

“So, our only problem now is to focus on how we can beat Converge twice. You shouldn't think about the losing streak, winning streak,” he added.

The coach also lauded his team for showing up in their biggest game of the conference.

“It's our biggest game. It's our biggest win, this conference. It took us all the way to our last game to get our seventh win. It also avoided a playoff for us,” he said.

“If we lose here, we still have a playoff against Magnolia. So, we don't want to playoff anymore, so I said, let us pour all of our abilities into this game so that at least we're even when it comes to the quarterfinals, we're even when it comes to our opponents,” he added.

“I guess our last two losses, we were really shooting poorly. Our shooting was bad. But now, we're more than 50% in the three points. Anton almost didn't miss. So, you have to play a near-perfect game to beat TNT.”

Rain or Shine led by as much as 15 points in the second quarter, 51-36, but TNT stormed back and cut the lead to one, 74-75, heading into the fourth.

But the Painters recovered in time and pulled away in the fourth to grab the win.

“I just wish we were consistent because that's the only way to win now. But it's important that we're playing in the quarterfinals in a best-of-three instead of playing in a twice-to-beat with you at a disadvantage or having to go through a playoff,” Guiao said.

“So, this is the best scenario for us considering after our five-game win streak in December, this January, we're playing poorly. Good thing we came back.”