Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao was proud of the team’s fight in Game 1 where the Elasto Painters stole the victory away from Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) semifinals.

The Elasto Painters erased a 107-102 deficit to clinch the series opener with a 115-111 victory behind crucial baskets by Jaylen Johnson, Jhonard Clarito, and Gian Mamuyac.

Johnson had 40 points and 19 rebounds, Clarito added 25 points, six rebounds, two steals, and one block, and Mamuyac chipped in 18 points and five assists.


Photo: PBA Images

For Barangay Ginebra, Justin Brownlee had 32 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks, and RJ Abarrientos had 21 points on 5-of-14 from three-point range.

“I thought they shot the ball well especially RJ. We couldn’t find a solution to RJ initially. Si JB, we also had a hard time matching up with him. But I’m really proud of the guys because our only goal is to show up and compete,” said Guiao.

“To play a team like Ginebra - GOAT import, GOAT coach, half of the Gilas team, the probable Best Player of the Conference in their team. I told the players to just fight and let’s see where we finish,” said Guiao.

Rain or Shine is aiming for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven semifinal series against Barangay Ginebra on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

“We got lucky winning Game 1. Let’s see if we continue to get lucky,” said Guiao.