first two games of their series with Rain or Shine. The Rain or Shine Scare The Elasto Painters came back strong to win games 3 and 4 and force a do-or-die game 5. Purefoods had a hard time guarding outside snipers like Jeff Chan and Mike Hrabak in game 3. In game 4, the Giants rallied to overcome a 16-point 4th Quarter deficit, to snatch the lead with a minute to go. But Eddie Laure hit a well-defended three-pointer to put Rain or Shine back on top, and the Giants failed to score another point. The struggle continued through the first half of game 5, before the Giants eventually realized they are the better team, and put the series away for good. Underdogs Prevail After a near-death experience with the Elasto Painters, the Giants found themselves on a collision course with second seed San Miguel Beer for a best-of-seven semifinal series. The Beermen took game 1 with ease, but the Giants adjusted well in game 2 to even the series. In game 3, the Beermen once again won by a huge margin, causing everyone to think that they had already taken control of the series. Little did they know that the Giants, led by Roger Yap's and James Yap's POW performances would win the next three games en route to their 13th All-Filipino finals appearance in franchise history. Colorful Sweep Sweeps are usually uneventful match-ups, with a superior team bullying the other into lopsided games. This was not the case in the Purefoods-Alaska series wherein Purefoods led by no more than 3 points in its first three wins. In game 2, a controversial call occurred when Kerby Raymundo got Joe DeVance to bite into his shot fake causing a slight contact with 1.7 seconds left and the game was tied. Arguments were raised whether the contact was enough to merit a call, but the referees eventually decided on a foul and awarded Raymundo two free throws, the first of which he made; the second he intentionally missed. In game 3, Willie Miller of Alaska had a chance to steal the victory in the dying seconds, but missed a possible game-winner at the buzzer. With their tough defense and a deeper rotation, the Giants cruised to a convincing game 4 victory, sealing the series and claiming their 8th title. It was also their 5th All-Filipino title, tying Crispa for most number