SMELLING BLOOD

Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs Magnolia

7:30 p.m. — TNT vs NLEX

Action and drama are expected to soar as TNT Tropang Giga and Rain or Shine collide with separate foes to close out their best-of-five quarterfinal series in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Tropang Giga will go for the kill when they battle NLEX at 7:30 p.m. following the 5 p.m. showdown between Rain or Shine and Magnolia in Game 4 of their race-to-three series.

The Elasto Painters are expected to have a tough time sealing the clincher.

In Game 3, they already posted an 18-point advantage in the first half but the Hotshots refused to roll over, especially in the crucial stretch of regulation in which Zav Lucero knocked down a fourth-point bomb to knot the highly-physical encounter at 98 with 8.4 seconds left.

Disaster nearly struck for the Elasto Painters as they botched their inbound play. Fortunately for them, Mark Barroca missed the potential game-winning layup that sent the game to overtime.

It was all Rain or Shine in the extra period as the Hotshots melted under pressure until Jhonard Clarito sealed the win at the charity stripe to secure a 110-106 overtime victory and seal a 2-1 series lead.

“We were happy because we were able to hold our emotions,” said Guiao, beaming with satisfaction over their performance that came a few days after suffering a 52-point domination in Game 2.

“Magnolia is a veteran team. They’ve been through a lot of battles like this. So for you to beat them in a crucial game like this means that you already have the strength to stay composed in the endgame.”

‘It has to be a combination of good defense and good offense.’

But winning over the Hotshots will not be easy, especially with coach Chito Victolero contesting that they should have won the match following the controversial calls — or non-calls — that were made in the final seconds of the extra period.

“I think you saw it. It’s very obvious. They need to call that. It will decide the game,” said Victolero, questioning the non-goal tending call on Lucero’s layup that led to Gian Mamuyac’s free throws.

“Everybody needs to be sharp because all the players, I demand sharpness from all my players. I demand sharpness on all my coaching staff. But it’s obvious that the decision-makers need to be sharp also in that situation because it will cost us the game.”

Should the Elasto Painters emerge victorious in putting away the Hotshots, they will face the winner between the Tropang Giga and NLEX in a best-of-seven semifinal showdown.

The Tropang Giga are coming off an impressive 109-91 win in Game 3, boosting their morale as they seek to wrap up the series.

TNT coach Chot Reyes said the key to securing their seat in the Final Four is to be relentless on both ends of the floor.

After all, that’s what they did in Game 3 when they nailed 15 of their 33 attempts from the rainbow area while forcing NLEX import DeQuan Jones to a miserable 7-of-16 field goal shooting for a quiet 16 points following a 38-point explosion in Game 2.

“It has to be a combination of good defense and good offense,” Reyes said.