STRONG FINISH CARRIES ROS PAST MERALCO
PALAWAN – Philippine Cup losing finalist Rain or Shine used a massive endgame tear against Meralco to chalk up its first win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum here Saturday night.
Ronnie Matias, Paul Lee and Beau Belga drained a trey each in a dizzying 17-0 run that the Elasto Painters unleashed at the finish to upend the Bolts, 91-82, in the kickoff leg of the Phoenix Fuel-sponsored road series in the mid-season tourney.
The Bolts were dictating the tempo before the E-Painters hit their stride and went on to spring back from their losing debut against the Alaska Aces the previous Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine overcame Meralco’s up-tempo game, holding the Bolts down to three points in the last 5:37 of play.
The Bolts sagged and collapsed at the finish, suffering a second straight loss after winning their initial game in the tourney versus the Philippine Cup three-peat champs the Talk n Text Tropang Texters.
Despite a poor shooting early on, the Elasto Painters kept firing with 7-foot-3 import Bruno Sundov right there to get the rebounds.
Sundov churned out huge double-double numbers with 20 points and 19 rebounds helping the E-Painters get into the win-column in the conference.
The Bolts were ahead 79-74 before the E-Painters unleashed their big run.
Rain or Shine pulled even at 79-all on two free throws by Lee and surged ahead, 85-79, on back-to-back treys by Lee and Belga.
The Bolts failed to recover from that shock, going scoreless for a stretch of over five minutes. The E-Painters, minus the injury-stricken Jeff Chan, had pulled away, 91-79, before the Bolts broke their silence on a basket by Rey Guevarra in the closing seconds.
Meralco had its success in pushing the ball hard early on, enjoying a nine-point spread at 39-30 midway through the second quarter.
Sundov and Arana fueled a Rain or Shine chase but the Bolts stayed up front, 45-43, at the half on two free throws by Guevarra.
Arana knocked in a three-pointer then scored on a looper off Eric Dawson as the E-Painters forged tied at 39 and 43. (SB)
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