Rain or Shine to level series

Rain or Shine shoots for the equalizer when it clashes with Ginebra in Game 2 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinal series today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game time is at 7 pm with the Elasto Painters looking to level the series to avoid a falling into a 0-2 hole in their first semifinal appearance in two years.

After surviving a grueling two-game duel with eighth-seed Globalport in the quarterfinals, the Elasto Painters started on a wrong foot as the Kings opened Game 1 with a quick 22-7 advantage.

Rain or Shine showed some signs of life as it clawed its way back from as many as 18 points before Ginebra made another strong rally en route to a 102-89 victory.

“Ginebra played like it’s the best team right now,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia, looking to wage a strong bounce back performance in Game 2.

“But that’s the nice thing about having a series; you can adjust. We just have to find ways to achieve it.”

Garcia said they have to tighten their defensive screws after allowing the Kings to dominate with 102 points in the series opener, thanks to the brilliant gameplan of the league’s winningest coach in Tim Cone.

“Knowing coach Tim, he’s the best tactician right now and we just have to find a way on how to counter their defense. They’re doing a good job defensively against us.”