Cebuano big man JR Quinahan of Rain or Shine eludes the defense of San Miguel Beermen’s Arwind Santos for two of his 12 points in the Elasto Painters’ 105-97 win over the Beermen last night in Game 2 of their best-of-seven semifinal series.
Game today
Mall of Asia Arena
7 p.m.- Alaska vs. GlobalPort
It was a reminiscent of their series-opener but the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters made sure there will be a different ending.
The Elasto Painters built early double-digit leads then hung tough in the game to thwart the hard-fighting San Miguel Beermen, 105-97, last night in Game 2 of their 41st PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine did what they failed to do in Game 1 where it squandered a 22-point lead, including a 20-point advantage at the start of the fourth period, for a sorry 105-109 defeat.
Coming into the match, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao reminded his wards to put the bitter loss behind them, saying he saw some positives despite the huge Game 1 meltdown.
Responding to their coach’s call, the Elasto Painters took off to a solid start and were quick to build erect double digit leads.
They went on to lead by as many as 25 points before posting a 49-34 lead at the half.
The defending champions Beermen again showed they are no-quit squad as they staged a searing 22-4 run in third that saw them moving within 56-63.
Rain or Shine weathered the storm and brought a 79-65 lead into the fourth.
Rookie Don Trollano, the 15th overall pick in last year’s Rookie Draft, sparked a strong fourth quarter start for Rain or Shine, scoring five straight points in a 9-2 run that padded the Elasto Painters’ lead to 88-67.
San Miguel simply refused to give up as a 18-6 attack brought them within 85-94 with 3:34 left.
Coming alive after scoreless Game 1, Jeff Chan delivered at the most opportune time as dropped back-to-back triples to restore a double-digit spread for Rain or Shine, 100-87 with 2:29 to go.
June Mar Fajardo, Ronald Tubid and Alex Cabagnot joined forces in the Beermen’ final stand as they cut the deficit to just five, 95-100, with 1:04 left.
Rain or Shine finally put San Miguel away by going 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the closing seconds.
Chan led the series-tying win with 16 points.
Trollano, JR Quinahan, Paul Lee, Gabe Norwood and Raymond Almazan also scored in twin digits and combined for 56 points.
Fajardo had another big scoring night with 38 points but the Cebuano big man went just 12-for-21 from the charity stripe
THE SCORES
RAIN OR SHINE (105) – Chan 16, Trollano 13, Quinahan 12, Lee 11, Almazan 10, Norwood 10, Ahanmisi 9, Cruz 8, Belga 7, Ponferada 6, Tiu 3.
SAN MIGUEL (97) – Fajardo 38, Cabagnot 24, Lassiter 13, Santos 10, Tubid 7, Lutz 3, Espinas 2, Arana 0, De Ocampo 0, Heruela 0, Reyes 0, Ross 0, Omolon 0.QUARTERSCORES: 31-15, 49-34, 79-65, 105-97
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