Now it can be told. Penn State power forward Jamelle Cornley, the MVP of the 2009-10 National Invitation Tournament, was all set to fly in to replace Rod Nealy as Rain Or Shine's import but never got to board the plane as the Elasto Painters failed to advance to the PBA Fiesta Conference semifinals.

Last Sunday, Rain Or Shine lost a 105-100 overtime heartbreaker to B-Meg in Game 5 of their best-of-5 quarterfinal series before over 21,000 fans at the Araneta Coliseum to wind up the conference with a 13-13 record.

Cornley, a 240-pound inside operator, averaged in double figures in scoring in four years at Penn State. As a senior in 2009-10, he hit at a 14.4 clip and led the varsity to the NIT crown despite a separated and tightly-bandaged shoulder. Penn State posted a 27-11 record in Cornley's farewell season and registered the most wins ever in campus history.

"Cornley was on standby," said Rain Or Shine coach Caloy Garcia yesterday. "We took a gamble in replacing Jai Lewis with Rod and it nearly paid off. Rod's a talented one-on-one player but his problem is he has a low basketball IQ. It's difficult for Rod to execute even simple plays. He's also not a defensive player. He's a super scorer but when he's on the floor, there's very little ball movement."

Garcia said when B-Meg raced to a 21- point lead in the first half of last Sunday's clincher, he spoke to Nealy before the start of the third period.

"I told Rod I would play all-Filipino and see how far we could go with it," said Garcia. "It was fine with Rod. Sure enough, we came back and even took the lead without Rod on the floor. Late in the game, I put Rod back in for rebounding and size. After we lost, Rod even mentioned I could gone all-Filipino in Game 4 which we also lost."

Garcia said in the dressing room after losing in overtime, he told his players to hold their heads up. "Our locals gave their best," he continued. "I'm very proud of them. Nobody expected us to go this far. We survived two knockout games in the wildcards. With Jay-R (Reyes) suspended in Game 5, we were a lot smaller than B-Meg. We had problems with their length. But we never gave up. No one's to blame for the loss. Sol (Mercado) took that three-point shot which would've won it for us in regulation. He brought us back and if he made that shot, we would've advanced to the semis. We just played a terrible first half. If we played as hard as we did in the second half, for sure, we would've won."

Garcia said Nealy's performance had nothing to do with his plan to leave the day after Game 5 to attend the three-day tryouts for the Korean league in Las Vegas.

"Actually, the import I like is B-Meg's Clif Brown," said Garcia. "If B-Meg releases him, we'll get him for the next conference provided the import limit is still 6-6. He's an all-around player. He can play the post. When B-Meg brought in (Tony) Washam, we didn't know what to expect. We certainly didn't expect him to be that good. He plays without any wasted motion. He was a big difference in our series."

Garcia said he doesn't expect major changes in Rain Or Shine's lineup next season even as at least eight player contracts are expiring. "We'll sit down with management and talk about it soon," he said. Among the players with expiring contracts are Ryan Arana, Eddie Laure, Mike Hrabak, Allan Salangsang, Mark Telan, Don Dulay, Jeff Chan and Jireh Ibanes.

Garcia said the team will continue to improve with leaders Gabe Norwood and Mercado.

"Gabe was outstanding all season," said Garcia. "He plays multiple positions and he's where our defense comes from. What we'd like is to get an athletic three-guy so we can move Gabe to the two spot. After Gabe, we really have nobody to step in. Jervy (Cruz) is more a four than a three and when we play with an import like Rod, Jay-R sacrifices a lot of his playing time. We need more balance. We'll study who's available in the draft and among the free agents."

Garcia said playing before 21,000 fans last Sunday was a big thrill. "I didn't really notice how big the crowd was during the game," he said. "But when I watched the replay on TV, I was surprised. It was like watching a college game. The players on both benches were standing up, cheering every play. It was a different aura."

As for the semifinals, Garcia said he'll watch every game until the climax of the Last Dance.

"Both semifinal series will be close," said Garcia. "I plan to watch every game live in the stadium, to get a feel for the semis, to get in the mood of getting back to the semis. Talk ‘N' Text is deadly in transition while Alaska knows how to play the clock, relying on its system defensively and offensively. San Miguel has a lot of scorers but B-Meg has size and Washam's ability to score takes the load off James ( Yap )."

Garcia said his choice as the conference's best import is Talk ‘N' Text's Shawn Daniels. "He's the best role-playing import in the league," said Garcia. "He sacrifices his offense to get his teammates involved. He doesn't look to score. He just does what the coach expects him to do – get the rebounds, protect the interior and look for the open man when he's doubled at the post."

In both conferences this season, Rain Or Shine lost to B-Meg in two pulsating quarterfinal series that went the distance. As Garcia said, the Elasto Painters' display of toughness against tall odds was nothing to be ashamed of. - www.philstar.com