RAIN OR SHINE STAYS ALIVE
Rain or Shine put to a halt Petron Blaze’s 11-game romp and kept its title-retention bid alive with a mind-boggling 92-87 win in the third game of their PBA Governors Cup best-of-five semifinal showdown at the Cuneta Astrodome Saturday.
The Boosters started the fourth quarter with a 15-2 attack but the Elasto Painters finished it with an 18-2 counterattack, thus, foiling Petron’s sweep bid.
“We just avoided the embarrassment of being swept. It’s just something we survived,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.
Guiao, however, said it would already be a different story if they would be able to make it two in a row in Game Four Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’re still just trying to prolong the series and hope to make a series out of it. But if we win again Monday, then we would already have a serious shot at the finals,” he said.
As in Game Two, three-point shooting was a huge factor in this game.
The Elasto Painters turned back the Boosters on a vicious closing run highlighted by four big triples, curiously after going 0-of-18 from beyond the arc in Game Two.
Arizona Reid, Jeff Chan, Chris Tiu and JR Quinahan delivered the game-changer three-pointers, narrowing their series deficit at 1-2.
The Elasto Painters started the game under assistant coach Mike Buendia with coach Guiao got stuck in terrible traffic in EDSA and first assistant Caloy Garcia with the Letran Knights in a crucial game in the NCAA.
Nonetheless, the Elasto Painters started strong and were in the lead, 23-19, when Guiao finally came at the onset of the second period.
The E-Painters fought with a steely resolve and kept their poise and composure even as the Boosters raced ahead 85-74 with 8:33 left to play.
Tiu, Reid, Quinahan and Chan rifled in four straight treys as ROS regained the upperhand at 88-85, and the E-Painters hung tough to the finish.
The Boosters, meanwhile, self-destructed with four critical turnovers in the last two minutes.
With a fat zero production from the three-point land in Game Two, Rain or Shine curiously started Game Three with a three-pointer through Chan.
They ended up with nine three-pointers, the same number produced by the Boosters.
With great determination, the E-Painters led by nine points once in the second period before taking the half at 48-44.
Chan had gone 3-of-6 from the three-point land and 2-of-2 from the two-point area for 13 points and Reid added 11 points and the same number of rebounds by then.
The E-Painters rotated the ball very well and surprisingly controlled the boards, 29-22, as they enjoyed the four-point lead at the turn.
Pressing their bid harder, the E-Painters built a 12-point lead, 65-53, before the Boosters made their own futile runs. (SB)
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