NLEX foils Rain or Shine’s outright semis bid

Almost everybody had anticipated a Rain or Shine party, but then came an NLEX shocker.

Sean Anthony came through with an astonishing 37-point performance, highlighted by a lethal five-point binge in the last 21 seconds as NLEX foiled Rain or Shine’s bid for an outright Final Four entry with a 111-106 win in the penultimate play date of the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup elimination play at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Saturday night.

The Road Warriors frustrated the E-Painters and instead gave the Alaska Milk Aces (9-2) and the San Miguel Beermen (9-2) free ride to the Top Two.

In squandering double-digit spreads before eventually blowing away the game, the E-Painters settled for third spot at 8-3, needing to go through the tough two-part quarterfinal stage.

“We’re happy we won this game. We want a positive outlook going into the quarters,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

The Road Warriors closed out with a 5-6 mark, a rung below the Top Six, meaning they will need to win three in a row in the quarters to make the next round.

“It will be a tough one against either Talk n Text or Barangay Ginebra. We’ll just take it one game at a time,” said Fernandez.

Against the E-Painters, the Road Warriors hung around before striking at the finish.

Anthony scored on a strong drive off Raymond Almazan as the Road Warriors moved ahead at 108-106 with time down to 21.7 seconds.

Then Macmac Cardona stole off Jeff Chan, paving the way for a three-point play by Anthony that made it 111-106 to the surprise of the Big Dome crowd in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special.

The E-Painters, who had a shot at playoff top seeding, came out steady, dominating the early goings with a perfect 8-of-8 three-point shooting in the first 15 minutes of the contest.

Their fall started on a poor fourth-quarter start pounced on by the Road Warriors to pull even at 92.

Beau Belga, returning from the bench with five fouls, provided instant offense as Rain or Shine regained the upper hand at 104-100.

But the Road Warriors put on the pressure then rode high on the offensive exploits of Anthony to steal the game. (SB)

The Scores:

NLEX 111 – Anthony 37, Taulava 15, J. Villanueva 14, Cardona 11, Alas 9, Lanete 7, Enciso 6, Reyes 6, E. Villanueva 6, Borboran 0, Khobuntin 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 106 – Belga 18, Chan 15, Ponferrada 13, Tiu 11, Almazan 10, Cruz 9, Nimes 9, Quinahan 6, Ahanmisi 5, Norwood 5, Teng 3, Matias 2, Trollano 0.

Quarters: 33-32, 56-61, 83-88, 111-106.

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