By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE best-of-five Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series between the San Miguel Beermen and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters hits Game Four today with both teams highly determined to see their respective causes through.

San Miguel continues to lead the series, 2-1, despite losing in Game Three on Wednesday, 112-104, and makes another go at a finals spot in their 7 p.m. game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum while Rain or Shine looks to tie the series and extend it to a deciding game.

Rain or Shine bucked an explosive game from San Miguel import Chris McCullough and another ferocious charge back from the Beermen to take Game Three and fight another day.

Like what they had been doing all series long, the Elasto Painters got off to a strong start, racing to a 30-14 advantage after one quarter.

But the Beermen would rally back, led by Mr. McCullough to level the game at 54-all at the halftime break.

The two teams slugged it out for the entire second half before Rey Nambatac, Gabe Norwood and Beau Belga came up big on both ends of the court down the stretch to outlast their opponents and keep their tournament lives burning.

Import Carl Montgomery led the way for Rain or Shine in the win with 25 points and 15 rebounds with Mr. Nambatac finishing with 22 points to earn player of the game honors.

Mr. Belga had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Mr. Norwood had 11 points.

For San Miguel it was Mr. McCullough who top-scored with 51 points to go along with 14 boards.

Alex Cabagnot had 16 points while Christian Standhardinger finished with 14.

While they fell short in their initially attempt to close out the series, the Philippine Cup champions Beermen remain upbeat and doggedly determined to puncture their way to another PBA finals.

They, however, expressed concern over their slow start to games, which has been a familiar trend for the team not only in the series but for much of the ongoing tournament.

“We are concerned with our bad start. It has been the case throughout the conference. It is something we have to address because it affects our game. We are always in a catch-up situation which takes a toll on us late in the game,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria after Game Three.

“It’s unfortunate that we loss because our import scored 51 points but we are still leading and we just have to say positive,” he added.

Over at Rain or Shine, coach Caloy Garcia was thankful to have finally broken through with a win in the series despite nearly melting down anew.

“It was a good win. We almost had another meltdown, losing an 18-point lead in the first half. But it’s really hard playing against San Miguel. I’m just proud we are not going to be swept by a powerhouse team. The players came out and played hard. We just did not want to lose today and hopefully we can extend the series and get another one,” Mr. Garcia said.

He, however, highlighted the need for them to work on their game, particularly in taking care of the ball.

“We must take care of our turnovers. San Miguel is good in capitalizing on those mistakes,” Mr. Garcia said.

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