Rain or Shine nails semis berth, sweeps Ginebra
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Rain or Shine swept Ginebra after a 102-89 win in Game 2 of their best-of-three quarterfinals series on Tuesday and advance to the 2016 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
In stark contrast to their Game 1 showing where they started slow, the Elasto Painters imposed their will early and went on cruise control, stifling any runs from the Gin Kings before JR Quiñahan and Jeff Chan closed the deal for good in the endgame.
“We played good defense tonight and we tried to avoid the bad start,” said ROS head coach Yeng Guiao, looking back at his team’s 88-84 Game 1 thriller. “We felt if we would have a better start and not fall behind by 19 points, we have a chance of winning this game at yun nga ang nangyari.”
Chan topscored for Rain or Shine with 22 points, 10 of which coming in the payoff period, while Quiñahan dropped seven of his 21 markers in that fourth frame, alongside five rebounds.
Maverick Ahanmisi had 13 points, while Pierre Henderson-Niles added 10 markers and 14 boards in the victory.
“We’ve been through a lot but we’re in the semis even though there are adversities that came our way,” said Guiao.
Rain or Shine now awaits the victor of the San Miguel-Star quarterfinals pairing for its date in the best-of-5 semifinals series.
Othyus Jeffers carried the load for Ginebra with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, while Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar both registered an identical statline of 14 markers and eight boards in the defeat.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 102 – Chan 22, Quinahan 21, Ahanmisi 13, Henderson-Niles 10, Almazan 6, Norwood 6, Belga 5, Cruz 5, Tiu 5, Teng 4, Lee 3, Ponferrada 2, Ibanes 0.
GINEBRA 89 – Jeffers 27, Aguilar 14, Slaughter 14, Tenorio 11, Caguioa 10, Devance 7, Ellis 4, Thompson 2, Helterbrand 0, Marcelo 0, Mercado 0.
Quarters: 31-21, 50-44, 77-64, 102-89.
