MANILA, Philippines – The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters strengthened their bid for one of the top two seeds in the league standings and an outright semifinals berth in the Philippine Cup playoffs with a humongous win over the Alaska Aces, 111-105, on Friday, December 11, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Snapping their opponents’ 4-game winning streak, the Paul Lee-less Elasto Painters improved their record to 7-2 with two games left on their schedule.
Now owning elimination round wins over Alaska and current no. one seed San Miguel (8-1), Rain or Shine puts itself in great position to finish in the top two.
The Aces entered the game having yet to lose in Manila this PBA season, and at one point in the third quarter were ahead by double-digits before succumbing to Rain or Shine’s defense and shot-making in the final period.
“We just try to keep our composure, even under pressure,” said Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao, whose club was down as much as 14, 81-67.
“We were behind almost for the most part of the game, and we just stuck together. We just kept our composure. We tried to keep our poise. We waited for the time when we could get the game close enough for us able to put pressure on them too.”
Rain or Shine’s offensive balance was on this display as 7 guys scored in double-figures, led by the 17 points and 8 rebounds of Beau Belga. Raymond Almazan and Jericho Cruz dropped 13 points each, while JR Quinahan, Jeff Chan, and Don Trollano ha 12 points apiece. Gabe Norwood posted 11.
Rain or Shine shot 49% from the field while Alaska hit 51%, but the Elasto Painters scored more off turnovers, 28-16, and took better advantage of fast break opportunities, 38-22.
Alaska was led by Vic Manuel who had a career-high 24 points and 9 boards. Cyrus Baguo also played well with 14 points, while Calvin Abueva had 10.
Rain or Shine actually started the game on fire, racing off to an 11-2 lead that gave them momentum early. But like it usually does, Alaska chipped away at the deficit and eventually established a cushion of its own.
The game was tied at 81 entering the fourth period, where Rain or Shine eventually pulled away with 3:15 to go.
Its run started with a Ponferada basket and Norwood free throws that made the count 102-98. After Baguio misfired on a triple, Belga made a shot despite getting fouled on the other end to make it a 6-point game with 2:14 left.
After Manuel hit a big shot to trim the deficit, Norwood missed a triple, but Belga attained the offensive board that led to a foul on Quinahan. The big man split his charities, but Alaska wasn’t able to get closer after JVee Casio missed a 3-ball.
After Cruz and Chris Tiu took turns splitting free throws, Manuel made a basket to trim the lead to 107-102. But right on the next play, Norwood found a wide open lane to the basket for a game-sealing dunk with 7 seconds to go.
“It’s a hard game. It’s a physical game. It’s a fast game. It’s a high-scoring game. I think this is a treat for the fans, so we look forward to playing Meralco and NLEX and hope we can make the semis outright,” said Guiao, whose team was eliminated by Alaska in last PBA season’s Philippine Cup semis.
“That’s going to be our goal from now on. We cannot lose to any of those teams, or else I think our chances are going to be a lot less than what they are right now.”
What makes Rain or Shine’s record more impressive is they’ve reached it without Lee, their top local scorer from last season, who’s still nursing a knee injury. But according to Guiao, the high-scoring guard can start working out next week.
“We had to scale down our expectations until he gets back, but we’re playing well without him. Paka hindi na namin siya kailangan (Maybe we don’t need him anymore),” Guiao joked, before saying:
“We’re trying to buy time actually for Paul…. We want to bring him in the semifinals as much as possible.”
The Aces have games remaining against the San Miguel Beermen in a finals rematch and the Barako Bull Energy.
Scores:
Rain or Shine (111): Belga 17, Almazan 13, Cruz 13, Chan 12, Quinahan 12, Trollano 12, Norwood 11, Ponferrada 8, Ahanmisi 7, Tiu 4, Nimes 2.
Alaska (105): Manuel 24, Baguio 14, Abueva 10, Hontiveros 9, Menk 9, Dela Cruz 8, Jazul 8, Casio 7, Banchero 6, Baclao 2, Dela Rosa 2.
Quarter scores: 28-32; 56-64; 81-81; 111-105. – Rappler.com