Rain or Shine takes solo lead
Games Today (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:30 p.m. – Meralco vs Alaska 6:45 p.m. – Ginebra vs Magnolia
ain or Shine overcame a 19point deficit and the early onslaught of its former player to escape past Phoenix, 108106, and gain another step in its bid to secure a twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Elasto Painters fell behind 29-10 at one point in the opening period while seeing Jeff Chan torch his former team for 23 of his 26 points in the first half, before getting their acts together on both ends of the floor.
James Yap was instrumental in the comeback, hitting eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter while bulky import Reggie Johnson gave Rain or Shine its biggest lead at 104-98, 4:10 remaining.
But Rain or Shine had to weather a last-ditch stand by Phoenix, getting a lucky break in the dying seconds when import Eugene Phelps missed a lefty layup against several defenders in the paint.
Gabe Norwood made just one of two free throws with 5.9 ticks left, and Phoenix’s Matthew Wright failed to force a five-minute extension when his stepback jumper off Johnson sailed nowhere to end the opener of the Petron Saturday Special.
“It’s another hard-earned win for us,” said coach Caloy Garcia after Rain or Shine improved to a league-best 8-1 record, inching closer towards becoming the first team to gain the twice-tobeat in the quarters.
“During halftime, I told the players that we can’t be complacent against any team as I felt that we didn’t want to win the game,” he added. “I just told them that we have to at least keep the game close to have a chance at beating Phoenix. The nice thing about it is James came out and played well in the third and even in the fourth and we played better defense in the second half.”
Johnson finished with 32 points, 17 rebounds and five assists while Beau Belga and Raymond Almazan were other double-digit scorers for the Elasto Painters with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Phoenix dropped its fourth straight for a 3-6 record. The loss put to naught Chan’s first half barrage that saw him make six triples.
Chan, however, cooled off the rest of the way, so did the Fuel Masters, who couldn’t be salvaged by Wright’s second half outburst.
Johnson 32, Yap 13, Belga 13, Almazan 11, Tiu 9, Daquioag 7, Ponferada 7, Ahanmisi 7, Norwood 5, Borboran 2, Nambatac 2. Phelps 26, Chan 26, Wright 15, Jazul 13, Kramer 11, Wilson 6, Perkins 5, Chua 4, Revilla 0, Intal 0, Dehesa 0, Mendoza 0, Quarters: 17-31; 45-57; 80-85; 108-106.