Painters claim last semis berth
Game Tomorrow (Mall of Asia Arena) 6:40 p.m. – San Miguel vs Alaska Game Sunday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 7 p.m. – Ginebra vs Rain or Shine
James Yap fired 27 points in a vintage performance that propelled Rain or Shine to the last semifinals berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 103-97 win over GlobalPort in their door-die quarterfinal match at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Reliving his glory days with the Purefoods franchise as a clutch performer in the playoffs, Yap tied a careerhigh with seven triples to complete his best performance since joining Rain or Shine in a trade for Paul Lee two years ago.
But Yap’s timely performance en- abled the top seed Elasto Painters to survive the upset scare of the eightranked Batang Pier and arrange a best-of-five semifinal showdown with streaking Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Game 1 of their series will start on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine advanced to its first semifinal appearance since winning the title in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup under fiery coach Yeng Guiao.
Import Reggie Johnson had 29 points, 16 rebounds and six assists for Rain or Shine, which was pushed to a rubber match after a Jonathan Grey triple in the dying seconds gave GlobalPort a 114-113 win on Tuesday.
Rain or Shine, which blew a 16point lead in the first meeting, almost squandered a similar lead after being up 86-70 in the fourth.
GlobalPort closed in at 101-97 late in the contest but it turned out to be a minor scare for Rain or Shine.
Stanley Pringle finished with 23 points, five rebounds and eight assists but the Batang Pier failed to become the first No. 8 team to upset the league’s best record in the quarters since the Powerade Tigers stunned the B-Meg Llamados in the 2012 Philippine Cup.
Paolo Javelona added 18 points while Batang Pier import Malcolm White had four fouls in the second quarter before turning in 12 points and 10 rebounds.