Giants' offense down and eventually tying the game with 22 seconds to go. Jai Lewis missed the possible go-ahead free throw, giving the Giants a chance to score the winning basket with the shot clock turned off. Chandler drove to the basket, got fouled, and drained two free throws with 1.2 seconds left. Off the timeout, Rob Wainwright missed the jumper and Purefoods tied the series. Game 3 saw the Giants leading most of the second half, behind Simon's high scoring game. Chandler was benched after letting his emotions get the best of him in the first half. He never saw action again in the second half, where Rain or Shine kept the game close. This paved the way for TY Tang to sink the go-ahead three-pointer with 31.2 seconds left. With the loss, Purefoods were denied a slot in the semifinals and their long off-season began. Looking Towards a Bright Future After a dismal performance in the 34th PBA season, the Giants geared up for a promising 35th by figuring in big transactions in the off-season. First, they re-acquired the services of 2006 Finals MVP Marc Pingris by giving up future picks to Burger King. The Whoppers earlier acquired Pingris from San Miguel in the Arwind Santos trade. Within the next two days, Pingris was eventually shipped back to Purefoods on the said follow-up deal in exchange for a draft pick. Another cause for optimism in the Purefoods organization is having the second overall pick of the 2009 PBA draft. Amid rumors of giving up marquee players to Burger King to get top prospect Japeth Aguilar first overall, the Giants eventually called the negotiations off and settled for no. 2 at the draft. Thus, Aguilar went to the Whoppers, while the Giants picked former De La Salle University Archer Rico Maierhofer. In an effort to solve the duplications in several positions, the Giants engaged in a multi-player deal with sister team Barangay Ginebra. Burger King was willing to act as the conduit for this intra-company exchange, and thus the player carousel began. The Gin Kings bulked up their frontline by acquiring Enrico Villanueva, Paolo Bugia, and Rich Alvarez from Purefoods. They also deepened their backcourt rotation by taking Celino Cruz from the Giants and Pocholo Villanueva from the Whoppers. The Giants got Rafi Reavis, Paul Artadi, and Chris Timberlake. The Whoppers also landed rookie Orlando Daroya who was the