Rain or Shine’s big man Beau Belga dribbles past Phoenix import Kevin Pinkney in their PBA game last night at the Araneta Coliseum. (PBA IMAGES)
Game today
USEP Gym, Davao City
5 p.m. – Star vs Alaska
Jeff Chan was feeling it and took it upon himself to rescue Rain or Shine from what would have been an early demise in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“I had a good feeling about it,” Chan told the Inquirer, minutes after dropping 19 points in the fourth quarter and leading the Elasto Painters to a 109-104 victory over Phoenix Petroleum that enhanced their playoff chances at Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Chan finished with 25 points and had fed import Mo Charlo for a critical basket as Rain or Shine rose to 5-4, its hopes of gaining a fair deal in the quarterfinals getting a huge boost.
“I just don’t want to lose,” Chan went on after tallying his biggest output in the last four conferences. “They (Fuel Masters) were on us (in the stretch) and we knew that losing this game would have put us in a very difficult position (to make the Final Four).”
Aside from Chan’s heroics, Rain or Shine also got a break with 17.9 seconds left when a Kevin Pinkney basket, which would have given the Fuel Masters a 106-105 lead, was nullified because the Phoenix import held on to the net while his shot was still circling the cylinder.
“It was a break due us, I believe,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said after dropping the Fuel Masters to 3-6 and closer to elimination. “I felt sure that it was a goal-tend, but I still had doubts that the refs would call it (after) the review.”
Charlo added 17 points, Jericho Cruz finished with 16 and Raymond Almazan had 12 rebounds and capped a 10-point night with two charities with 4.7 seconds left that eventually rounded out scoring.
With the win, Rain or Shine stayed in position towards qualifying in the upper half of the eight-team playoff draw, meaning, the Painters would be in a best-of-three series.
Had they lost, finishing seventh or eighth would have been a possibility, and the Painters would have to beat a top two team two straight times to make the semifinals.
Willie Wilson had 21 points, Garcia and Pinkney finished with 20 each and Chico Lanete and JC Intal combined for another 24 for the Fuel Masters, who narrowly missed winning back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history.