Guiao-less Rain or Shine Elasto Painters look to finish off Petron Blaze Boosters today

Game today: Araneta Coliseum
8 p.m.- Rain or Shine vs. Petron

The rain or shine Elasto Painters gun for a championship berth but they will have to do it without their suspended head coach.

Fiery head coach Yeng Guiao will not be on the sidelines when the Elasto Painters try to finish off the Petron Blaze Boosters in Game 5 of their best-of-seven semifinal series of the 39th PBA Philippine Cup tonight at the Araneta Coliseum.

Aside from Guiao’s absence, Rain or Shine, which holds a 3-1 series lead, will also be dealing with injuries to some key players.

Paul Lee failed to finish the game after sustaining a sprained ankle in the second quarter of their 88-83 win in Game 4. Jervy Cruz also sustained a broken nose after he was hit by Petron point guard Alex Cabagnot late in the game.

It was an impressive outing for the Elasto Painters, who escaped with the win despite the ejection of Guiao in the third period. It was the second straight ejection of Guiao after he was also tossed in their blowout 73-106 Game 3 loss.

Aside from the one-game suspension, Guiao was also slapped with a P100,000 fine.

Guiao, however, remains optimistic that his team can still win without him.

“Paul is injured and I’m not sure if he could play. Jervy has a broken nose and has to wear a mask. Hindi nga siya nakapag- practice kahapon (Wednesday) because he was waiting for that mask. But even with those and without me, I feel we can still win. Preparado ang team, may gameplan kami na susundin and it’s simply a matter of the team as a whole rising to the occasion,” said Guiao in a pba.ph report.

Should Rain or Shine go on to win Game 5, they will await the winner in the other series between the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the San Mig Coffee Mixers.

The Kings defeated the Coffee Mixers in Game 4 last Wednesday, 85-82, to tie the series at two games apiece.