Just before the flood submerged Metro Manila yesterday despite of not having a typhoon entering Philippine Area of Responsibility, a sea of blue flooded the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
Rain or Shine, the PBA's perennial league doormats prior to having a breakout season this year, nabbed its first PBA title, a Governor's Cup championship over the powerhouse B-Meg Llamados.
What made the championship sweeter is the fact that it's vaunted rookie Paul Lee was unable to play Games 3-7 of the championship series due to a shoulder injury.
The injury of a star player can cause a team to sink or float depending on the situation. But with Yeng Guiao at the helm as the team's head coach, he decided to set the team afloat. Moreso, Lee's injury was supposedly a boost to the Llamados, who have a healthy line-up composed of James Yap, PJ Simon, Marc Pingris and import Marquis Blakely playing.
This was actually the second time B-Meg/Purefoods played against a team with injured key players in a finals series and lost in the process. The first time was when Triggerman Allan Caidic got injured in 1990 while playing for Presto in the All Filipino Finals, which the Ice Cream Masters won.
The moral of the story: Never underestimate the heart of an underdog especially if it's Rain or Shine.
This was the most crucial game for me. I can't believe Rain or Shine won in this game. Congratulations to this team although I think this greetings was too late!
TumugonBurahinPBA News