Rain Or Shine nabs PBA quarterfinals bonus; Star inches closer to said incentive
by Ivan Stewart Saldejano
Quezon City—Rain Or Shine rallied from 12 points down to smother Meralco, 96-89, to clinch the third twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night.
The Elasto Painters started out flat against the Bolts, trailing 17-30 late in the first quarter and 44-56 in the final stages of the second quarter as they felt the absence of Gabe Norwood, who attended his brother’s wedding.
Their other key defender, Jireh Ibañes, also had a hard time guarding Andre Emmett, and things got worse when Ibañes was shown the exits after getting a flagrant foul penalty 2 for a hard hit on the Bolts’ import.
Paul Lee and Wendell McKines then began to sizzle, leading a third-quarter run that pushed Rain Or Shine to a 70-68 lead.
Both teams went toe-to-toe in the early goings of the fourth quarter before a 9-0 run opened an 11-point Elasto Painters lead, 89-78, with 2:12remaining in the game. They maintained the double-digit advantage with a minute left in the match.
The Bolts had one final push as they scored five straight points, but Jeff Chan sealed the win with a layup for the final count.
McKines finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks for Rain Or Shine, which finished the elimination round with six straight wins after a dismal 1-4 start.
Emmett scored a game-high 33 markers with 13 boards, six dimes and four steals for Meralco, which lost a chance to nail the playoff incentive. The loss plus Star’s earlier win against Barako Bull earlier in the day made a five-way tie for the last three quarterfinal spots possible.
The Hotshots stepped on the gas from the opening tipoff and walloped the Energy, 117-89.
The Hotshots opened the game on an 8-0 run and immediately opened a double-digit advantage later in the first quarter. The lead ballooned to as high as 34 points, and they never looked back.
Marqus Blakely led Star, which kept in step with Barako and idle GlobalPort for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinal round, with 33 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal. Blakely, a known poor free throw shooter, made nine of ten charities on Sunday. James Yap also had a near double-double as he tallied 17 markers and eight boards with two dimes.
Liam McMorrow had a quiet 23 points along with 12 rebounds for the Energy, who lost for the fourth consecutive time after starting the season-ending conference at 6-1.
Box Scores:
First Game:
Star 117-Blakely 33, Yap 17, Simon 15, Mallari 11, Maliksi 10, Barroca 8, Pingris 6, Devance 6, Pennisi 6, Melton 3, Taha 2, Reavis 0, Gaco 0
Barako Bull 89-McMorrow 23, Intal 14, Salva 11, Ababou 11, Hubalde 7, Pascual 4, Wilson 4, Garcia 2, Chua 2, Sorongon 2, Forrester 0, Yeo 0, Salvador 0
Quarterscores: 34-20, 58-37, 86-62, 117-89
Second Game:
Rain Or Shine 96-McKines 26, Chan 14, Lee 12, Ibañes 10, Belga 9, Tiu 6, Jerv. Cruz 6, Jeri. Cruz 5, Almazan 4, Uyloan 2, Araña 2, Quiñahan 0
Meralco 89-Emmett 33, David 14, Dillinger 12, Hodge 7, Ando 6, Hugnatan 6, Cortez 5, Ildefonso 4, Nabong 2, Anthony 0, Caram 0
Quarterscores: 21-30, 46-56, 70-68, 96-89
