PAUL LEE-LED RAIN OR SHINE EXTENDS WIN STREAK TO 3
DAVAO CITY. — Paul Lee anchored the mighty Rain or Shine squad as they demolished Meralco, 107-79, Saturday in a Petron Blaze On Tour game in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup at the University of Southeastern Philippines Gym here.
Lee had 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter, where the Elasto Painters broke away from the game for good. His back-to-back treys and and-one play at the start of the third fired a 14-5 tear for Rain or Shine en route a commanding 65-43 advantage.
The lead continued to balloon in the fourth, even reaching as high as 33 points after a Lee trey to give Rain or Shine a 101-68 lead midway through the payoff period.
The Tondo dribbler also had a career-high 10 assists and five rebounds while making 4-of-8 on his threes. It was a first-ever double-double in the PBA for Lee.
Jeff Chan also had 16 points in the victory, while rookie Jericho Cruz added a career-high 15 markers off the bench.
It was a chippy game, to say the least, as head coach Yeng Guiao got ejected in the second half, and a fight almost broke out between Raymond Almazan and John Ferriols near the end of the game.
Rain or Shine improved to 5-2 with its third straight win, moving up to solo fourth in the standings behind Alaska (6-0), Barangay Ginebra (5-1) and San Miguel Beer (4-1).
The Bolts, meanwhile, fell to 3-3 after dropping their third straight game.
The 28-point loss was actually the third-worse defeat in franchise history.
Mark Macapagal paced Meralco with 16 points, nine coming from beyond the arc, while Jared Dillinger had 12. (RL)
The scores:
Rain or Shine 107 – Lee, 20 Chan 16, Jericho Cruz 15, Almazan 14, Belga 11, Tang 10, Teng 8, Uyloan 3, Ibanes 3, Quinahan 3, Norwood 2, Jervy Cruz 2.
Meralco 79 – Macapagal 16, Dillinger 12, Caram 11, Hodge 9, Hugnatan 7, Anthony 6, Ildefonso 6, Guevarra 4, David 4, Atkins 2, Ferriols 2, Cortez 0, Buenafe 0.
Quarterscores: 27-19, 51-38, 87-56, 107-79.
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
