JONAS Villanueva of Barako Bull lays it up as teammate Mark Isip pushes Raymond Almazan (left) of Rain or Shine out of play. RODEL ROTONI
Rain or Shine bounced back from its first loss and dealt Barako Bull its first defeat, 91-83, even as San Mig Coffee finally found a way to win in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup eliminations last night at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Elasto Painters opened up hot and completed the coast-to-coast triumph despite giving extended minutes to their rookies, while the Mixers—playing without ace gunner James Yap—broke into the win column via a 92-83 double-overtime thriller over the luckless Air21 Express.
TY Tang jumpstarted the Rain or Shine offense with nine of his team-high 14 points in the first period and rookie Jeric Teng scored 10 coming off the bench while getting the feel of how it is to guard a veteran superstar in Willie Miller.
“We survived a great game by Willie Miller,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said. “We considered it a learning experience, especially the rookies who guarded veterans like Willie.”
Miller’s MVP form
Miller, the former two-time MVP, scored 23 points while shooting 70 percent from two-point zone as he kept the Energy in the thick of the fight for most of the game.
Rain or Shine opened up a 28-17 lead after the first quarter and went on to rise to 3-1 while handing Barako Bull its first loss in three outings.
Five players scored in twin digits for Rain or Shine while the reedy 6-foot-7 newcomer Raymond Almazan, the third overall choice in the recent Rookie Draft who has played well in the last two games for the Painters, added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Ian Sangalang finally showed his true worth for San Mig Coffee, scoring eight critical points in the second overtime to key the win for the Mixers earlier.
The 6-foot-7 former San Sebastian ace, the second overall pick behind Barangay Ginebra’s Greg Slaughter, hit six in an 8-0 spurt for the Mixers, who finally won one after three losses.
Yap’s elbow pain
Yap sat out the contest because of a hyper-extended right elbow even as the Mixers welcomed Peter June Simon, who scored 11 points in his first game back from a bruised Achilles tendon.
Sangalang pounced on the absence of man-mountain Asi Taulava, who picked up his sixth foul in the first extension. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes coming off the bench for coach Tim Cone.
Joseph Yeo scored 21 and Nino Canaleta 20 for the Express, who remained winless in the young season after dropping to 0-4.
Ugly or beautiful win
“We just needed the win, that’s the bottom line. We don’t care if it’s an ugly win, or a beautiful win. We’ll take any win,” said Cone. “When you are desperate, you will take any win. We just need to try to get ourselves going.”
Alex Mallari finished with 12 points, including a jumper with 4.9 seconds left that forged the first extension at 69-all. Canaleta sealed the second overtime with three free throws off a foul by Rafi Reavis with three-tenths of a second left for 79-all.
The scores:
First Game
SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE 92—Barroca 19, Pingris 15, Reavis 15, Sangalang 14, Mallari 12, Simon 11, Acuna 3, Cawaling 3, De Ocampo 0, Gaco 0, Holstein 0.
AIR21 83—Yeo 21, Canaleta 20, Manuel 14, Cardona 13, Camson 6, Jaime 5, Taulava 4, Espiritu 0, Arboleda 0, Sharma 0, Custodio 0, Atkins 0.
Quarters: 11-20, 30-35, 47-50, 69-69, 79-79, 92-83
Second Game
RAIN OR SHINE 91—Tang 14, Quinahan 13, Chan 11, Teng 10, Lee 10, Belga 8, Almazan 8, Cruz 6, Rodriguez 5, Arana 4, Norwood 2, Tiu 0, Nuyles 0, Ibanes 0.
BARAKO 83—Miller 23, Buenafe 14, Macapagal 10, Wilson 10, Villanueva 8, Isip 6, Intal 5, Pennisi 5, Pena 2, Jensen 0, Labagala 0.
Quarters: 28-17, 47-44, 73-63, 91-83