Tigers live for last sudden death

MANILA, Philippines - Powerade bucked the loss of main man Gary David in the second quarter due to injury, drubbing Barako Bull, 99-95, to stay in the hunt for the last semifinals seat in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Josh Vanlandingham stood out as among the relievers who stepped up big time following the loss of David as the Tigers knocked out the Energy and advanced to the second and last stage of the three-team playoff for the last slot in the next round.

The Tigers will be back on the playing court at 6:45 p.m. tonight, taking on the Meralco Bolts in the second do-or-die contest.

But David remains a doubtful starter with an injured left foot.

“It’s a big question mark. Hopefully, we can find a way to have Gary there,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol.

Vanlandingham banged away four three-pointers and went on to tie a career-best 18-point output to help the Tigers overcome the loss of David and live to fight another game in the season-ending tourney.

“Josh (Vanlandingham) is the catalyst in this game,” said Perasol.

Powerade found other able relievers in Rey Guevarra and Rudy Lingganay even as import Omar Sneed put in his usual steady presence, coming through with a near triple-double job with 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.

Vanlandingham, Guevarra and Sneed teamed up to give Powerade a big push in the third quarter as the Tigers seized control, leading by as many as 13 at 76-63 and held on to the finish, thus, easing the Energy out of the tournament.

The opening half ended at 52-all as the two teams engaged in a tough fight with neither one leading by more than six.

The Tigers hung tough even with David sitting out the whole second quarter to have his left knee re-taped.

At halftime, Perasol, however, decided not to field David back in the game.

Despite the injury sustained in their last game versus B-Meg in Legazpi, Albay Saturday, David came out firing, pouring in 13 points in the first 11 minutes of play.

With their top gun out, Vanlandingham, Lingganay and Guevarra took over as the Tigers kept up with the Danny Seigle-led Barako charge in the second period.

Meanwhile, with their remarkable performance in the PBA Governors Cup elimination round, coach Yeng Guiao is convinced his Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are now ready to contend for the crown.

Guiao said their dominant run in the elims are for real and the Elasto Painters are now due to play in the finals and go for a championship.

“Hinog na hinog na ang team na ito (This team is ready to play in the championship),” said Guiao.

By Guiao’s own estimate, the Elasto Painters can gain their first-ever finals appearance with just two wins in five games in the six-team semifinal round of the season-ending tourney.

“We’re hoping two more wins would be enough to bring us to the finals. But we’re not looking to win just two more games. We look to win as many games as we can to toughen us up, and reinforce and fortify our system and confidence,” said Guiao.

“We’ll play scared. We’ll play like we need to win every game. That’s the attitude we like to ingrain in our minds,” Guiao added.

The Elasto Painters topped the elims with eight wins against a lone defeat, and that gives them much headway in the semis where the qualifiers carry over their elims records.

It’s the first time in franchise history that the Elasto Painters emerged as the best team in the elims.

And they eager to go all the way to give the Asian Coatings Inc. ball club its very first appearance in the finals since joining the league in 2006.

Before this, Rain or Shine had never finished better than third in the elims. The Elasto Painters had their previous best showing in the preliminary round in the 2009 Fiesta Conference with the burly Jai Lewis as import. They finished fourth at the end of the tourney.

With an 8-1 card, Rain or Shine is two full games in front of B-Meg (6-3), three games ahead of Talk n Text (5-4), Barangay Ginebra (5-4) and Petron Blaze (5-4) at the start of the semis on Friday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.

The sixth semifinalist will either be the Barako Bull Energy, the Powerade Tigers or the Meralco Bolts who carry over a 4-5 slate. 

Guiao said his troops worked hard to put themselves where they are now.

“It’s a testament to their hard work. There’s no shortcut to what they’ve achieved. They work extra hard in practice,” said Guiao.

And the fiery RoS mentor insists they’re not about to slow down.

“We’re out to prove that this team’s time has come. We’re putting those challenges in front of us. We’ll offer no excuses,” said Guiao.

Meanwhile, Petron Blaze is assessing its situation with import Eddie Basden hurt with an injury.

Former St. Mary’s star Paul Marigney flew in to try out, but coach Ato Agustin and his staff deem the player too short at 6-foot-2.

NOTES: Petron Blaze is assessing its situation with import Eddie Basden hurt with an injured knee. Paul Marigney flew in to try out, but coach Ato Agustin and his staff deem the former St. Mary’s star is too short at 6-foot-2…..”We have another chance to take the last bus to the semis. We don’t want to pass up another opportunity,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio for tonight’s second KO playoff.

The scores:

First Game

Powerade 99 – Sneed 24, Vanlandingham 18, David 13, Anthony 10, Guevarra 10, Casio 10, Lingganay 7, Salvador 4, Belasco 2, Tugade 1, Adducul 0.

Barako Bull 95 – Hickerson 20, Seigle 20, Kramer 14, Miller 10, Tubid 9, Pennisi 8, Cruz 7, Allado 7, Vergara 0, Salvacion 0.

Quarterscores: 28-26, 52-52, 79-70, 99-95