Lee, Quiñahan take charge as Rain or Shine trips Alaska
Coach Yeng Guiao gone on technical infractions with plenty of time left, and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters staying composed and finding a way to pull through in the end.
There’s nothing new there.
The Elasto Painters carved that feat yet again Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, grinding out a 117-114 victory over the Alaska Milk Aces to go above the .500 mark again in the PBA Governors Cup.
Dior Lowhorn overcame five fouls and teamed up with JR Quinahan, Paul Lee and Jeff Chan in a crucial endgame romp that had ROS salvaging a third win in five games.
The E-Painters also survived Guiao’s ejection in the third quarter and a 10-point deficit in the last eight minutes of the game as they caught up with idle Meralco at fifth place in the team standings.
With the loss, Alaska dropped to joint ninth with Blackwater and Star at 1-4.
“The team did a good job without me. I think we got down by about 10 when I was taken out of the game but we had some timely conversions,” said Guiao after the game.
“I guess we just have to look at the positive in this game — we’re back into winning above the .500 winning percentage,” Guiao also said.
Still down by five at 99-104, the Elasto Painters pulled key stoppages to get themselves back into the fight then subsequently steal the game.
Lowhorn got a crucial steal then Quinahan set up Lee for a trey as Rain or Shine moved ahead to stay at 108-106 with time down to 1:20.
In the ensuing plays, Chan knocked down a fade-away jumper then Lee canned in a trey as the E-Painters went unassailably ahead, 111-106, with only 40.3 ticks to go.
LaDontae Henton exploded for a game-high 41 points also despite early fouls, but had crucial lapses that hastened their downfall at the finish.
From the 104-99 count with 3:50 to go, the Aces faded away, scoring only two charities in the next 3:20 minutes.
With 8-of-13 three-point shooting and 18 points from Lowhorn, the E-Painters set the pace in the first 24 minutes of play and carried a 56-53 lead into the final half.
Chris Tiu went 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and Lowhorn, Lee, Chan, Gabe Norwood and Don Trollano had a triple each in their torrid outside shooting in the opening half.
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