By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine players and coaching staff sported t-shirts with ‘Buwis-Buhay’ prints on the sidelines of Game 2.
But it wasn’t for fashion or accessory alone. It was the battlecry the team hopes to live by as they face yet another 0-2 hole against TNT in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semifinals.
“Iyon lang kaya namin eh buwis buhay lang, manalo o matalo which is ganun naman talaga nangyari kanina,” said the fiery mentor referring to the Elasto Painters’ heartbreaking 105-113 overtime loss to the Tropang 5G.
Fight as if your life depends on it.
The line, of course, was a reference to how Guiao described the fight of the Elasto Painters during the Philippine Cup quarterfinals where the team faced a twice-to-win disadvantage against second-seeded NLEX.
“Manalo matalo ibigay mo lang lahat ng kaya mo itodo mo that is what we can guarantee. The win will come on its own. Kanina muntik na. I don’t think it was for the lack of effort. We just missed free throws then we made the bad decision to foul Calvin (Oftana) shooting a trey,” Guiao furthered.
True enough, ROS fought back hard into the contest after trailing by as many as 12 early in the final frame. The Elasto Painters even led, 99-96, late in regulation before Oftana, who was fouled by Gian Mamuyac while taking a desperate trey, sent the game to an extra period with three free throws.
Still, Guiao lauded the fight ROS has been showing, especially against the same team that they also failed to beat in the semifinals of the last two conferences.
“Laking panghihinayang namin. But the effort was there. And I’m really happy with the effort, an incredible effort. We led, they led, we came back, overtime. So it was an exciting game, but we couldn’t get the breaks. Breaks lang naman ang pagkatalo namin,” said Guiao whose ROS failed to capitalize on their free throws after only making 20 of their 34 attempts.
“(I think) very appropriate ito para sa amin. Parang angkop siya terno naman siya sa (laro) namin,” said Guiao. “Pinili namin to yung buwis buhay o kaya yung elasto pogi eh. Buwis-buhay na lang,” he jested.
