Painters sink Batang Pier, gain Final Four
Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine (dark) vs Jay Washington of GlobalPort (light). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
Shrugging off a listless start, Rain or Shine finished big and ended Globalport’s best PBA campaign so far with a 108-106 victory that shoved the Elasto Painters into the Governors’ Cup’s Final Four at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Painters trailed by as many as 12 in the third period and it was touch-and-go until Gabe Norwood hit the basket of the night with 17 ticks left that sealed their best-of-five clash with either Petron Blaze or Barangay Ginebra.
Ryan Araña hit 12 of his 16 points in the fourth period, most of them keeping the Painters within striking distance as he earned Player of the Game honors for the second time this conference.
Rain or Shine’s advance also erased bitter memories of a quarterfinal-round collapse in the last Commissioner’s Cup where the Painters, as the second seeds, lost two straight games to eventual finalist Barangay Ginebra.
“There was a little pressure on us,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said. “Globalport was really playing well and they had a chance to win the game. That thought (of losing to Ginebra) really bothered us.”
The Batang Pier played the final 14:08 without head coach Junel Baculi, who was tossed out for a second technical foul—in the franchise’s biggest game—after swearing at the referee late in the third period.
“That was a big break for us. Somehow, it was like déjà vu for me. It’s like I was seeing myself being thrown out,” Guiao said with a smile. “We were just able to grind it out against a ballclub that was getting better and better each game.”
Arizona Reid fired 25 points and Paul Lee scored 14 before resting for much of the second half because of pain in his left calf. Jervy Cruz played so well that he kept Beau Belga on the bench, finishing with 12, eight coming in the fourth period.
Markeith Cummings paced the Batang Pier with 29 points and Sol Mercado had 13 of his 22 in the first period which anchored a 34-point opening quarter that had Globalport taking a 34-23 lead.
The scores:
First Game
RAIN OR SHINE 108—Reid 25, Arana 16, Lee 14, Cruz 12, Tiu 10, Norwood 9, Belga 7, Quinahan 7, Chan 6, Rodriguez 2, Uyloan 0, Matias 0, Tang 0, Ibanes 0.
GLOBALPORT 106—Cummings 29, Mercado 22, Washington 18, David 18, Nabong 5, Taha 4, Lingganay 4, Salvador 4, Miller 2, Belencion 0, Alonzo 0.
Quarters: 23-34, 49-53, 77-78, 108-106
