RAIN OR SHINE PULLS OFF HOUDINI ACT AGAINST GLOBALPORT
JEFF Chan may struggle in some aspects and parts of a game, but don’t expect that to last.
With Chan finding his shooting touch when it mattered most, Rain or Shine found the needed boost to hurdle gritty GlobalPort, 86-83, Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The southpaw hotshot strung up 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, helping keep the Elasto Painters’ head above water against a Batang Pier crew that simply wouldn’t quit.
The Gilas Pilipinas stalwart missed his first three tries from the field and muffed four straight free throws, but would go on to sink five of his last seven shots from the field while also notching two rebounds and as many assists and steals.
Beau Belga, Raymund Almazan, Paul Lee, Jervy Cruz and JR Quinahan added at least 10 points each as Rain or Shine overcame its shooting woes and escaped with its second straight win for a 4-2 slate overall and a tie with idle Talk ‘N Text.
The loss cut short GlobalPort’s two-game winning streak and relegated it to an even 3-3 record. But not after one very gallant effort from a team that has five rookies.
“Globalport really pushed us. Our energy has been inconsistent, that’s why our game’s inconsistent,” said head coach Yeng Guiao, whose E-Painters led by as many as 13 points but found themselves staring at a seven-point deficit going to the payoff period.
“We’re a veteran team,” added Guiao. “I always feel we’ll make big shots in the end. But the big shots in this game for us were the free throws. They could’ve made our lives easier. I’m concerned with our free throw shooting and rebounding.”
Indeed, the E-Painters were outrebounded 50-43 and missed 12 of 31 attempts from the stripe, including six flubbed ones in the fourth. The field shooting was even worse as they bricked 48 of 78 tries.
It is his team’s struggles at the stripe that gnaw at Guiao the most, however.
“Pinahirapan namin iyung sarili namin by missing those important free throws,” noted Guiao, referring to the one clunker each by Quinahan and Chan and the four straight by Belga.
Good thing there was Chan, whose timely explosion was highlighted by two of his three triples, the last making it 82-78. His feed to Belga for an undergoal stab pegged an 84-80 count, still 2:42 left.
Stanley Pringle capped his 14-point, nine-rebound, 6-assist performance with a banked shot and Yancy de Ocampo came up with a charity to breathe life to GlobalPort’s bid as it threatened at 83-84, 79 seconds to go.
The Batang Pier even had the chance to wrest the upper hand when Belga turned the ball over in the ensuing play. But Cabagnot missed two attempts and Lee finally canned two freebies for a three-point difference that stood when Cabagnot muffed a desperation trey at the buzzer.
Cabagnot still wound up with a game-high 20 points with Keith Jensen adding 15 and De Ocampo 14 to go with 12 rebounds.
Led by rookie Anthony Semerad, Ronjay Buenafe and Mark Isip, GlobalPort withstood another two-point game by Terrence Romeo to make it a close contest.
Cabagnot scored nine of his points in the third period while Jensen boomed in back-to-back triples ending a 12-2 run to give the Batang Pier a 70-63 lead.
Jericho Cruz, Almazan, Jireh Ibanes and Quinahan conspired in an 8-2 burst to open up the fourth quarter before Chan took over.
Averaging just 2.0 points the last two games, Belga stirred to life right in the first half with 10 points and helped Rain or Shine take a 49-36 lead at the turn.
Lee added nine points and Quinahan and Almazan each scored seven in the second quarter, but it was Ibanes showing off no ill effects of a recent sprain who sparked the surge from a 30-28 count with an undergoal stab off a nifty Quinahan feed and followed that up with a trey.
Jensen rattled in a triple but inadvertently tipped in a basket that was credited to Almazan and Quinahan, Belga and Lee combined for a 9-3 exchange that gave the E-Painters their biggest lead thus far. (NC)
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 86 – Chan 16, Belga 12, Lee 11, Almazan 11, Cruz Jervy 10, Quinahan 10, Ibanes 8, Cruz Jericho 4, Norwood 3, Teng 1, Tang 0.
GLOBALPORT 83 – Cabagnot 20, Jensen 15, Pringle 14, De Ocampo 14, Semerad 8, Isip 6, Romeo 3, Buenafe 3, Baclao 0, Ponferada 0, Nabong 0, Taha 0, Caperal 0, Pinto 0.
Quarterscores: 23-20, 49-36, 63-70, 86-83
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