Elastopainters hold on to beat Batang Pier
Raymond Almazan sank the game-winning free throws and Rain or Shine held off GlobalPort, 98-96, in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Friday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Almazan calmly made a pair of freebies with 5.2 seconds left before Terrence Romeo forced a wild shot against Gabe Norwood and Jericho Cruz, who were all over the Batang Pier guard as time ran out.
“Our free throws saved us. We were struggling with our free throws but we made them when it counted,” said ROS head coach Caloy Garcia, whose squad went 18-of-34 from the free throw line.
Almazan finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds while import James Weatherspoon also posted a double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
Romeo topscored with 28 points on 27 shots while Stanley Pringle added 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to carry much of the load for GlobalPort, which drew a forgetful PBA debut from Jabril Trawick.
Trawick had three points, two assists and two turnovers in 16 minutes of action before fouling out with still 5:46 left.
The Batang Pier battled back from a 14-point halftime deficit and a 79-70 hole early in the fourth quarter.
Pringle knotted the count at 96 with two free throws with 1:16 remaining, but GlobalPort failed to keep Rain or Shine’s big men off the boards in the waning seconds that led to Almazan’s winning freebies.
