Rain or Shine halts Petron’s unbeaten run in overtime

Chris Lutz -Petron (light) vsJeff Chan & Jireh Ibanez Rain or Shine (dark). PBA IMAGE by KC Cruz

MANILA, Philippines — Rain or Shine ended Petron Blaze’s unbeaten run with a backbreaking 99-95 victory in overtime Saturday in the 2013 PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Jervy Cruz scored six points in overtime, Paul Lee nailed the Elastopainters’ last five points while Gabe Norwood accounted for timely assists as they hung tough against a formidable Boosters team.

“They’re such a good team, you need extra ordinary efforts to beat them. We worked harder today, more aggressive,” said head coach Yeng Guiao.

“We couldn’t get a break from the referees and we have to create our own breaks.”

The Elastopainters took a 79-74 lead on a 13-0 blast in regulation but couldn’t close out the Boosters who forged the overtime.

Cruz converted inside off a nifty inbound feed from Norwood, before Lee nailed a triple off a tough cross court pass from the lanky Fil-American, which proved to be the dagger with 36.2 seconds left.

Cruz equaled his career-best of 23 points along with 12 boards, while Lee added 15 points. Norwood, meanwhile, added eight points, six rebounds and six dimes.

Rain or Shine is now 5-3, just a shade behind Talk N’ Text (5-2), while the Boosters dropped to 7-1 in a tie with Ginebra at the top.

Jun Mar Fajardo led Petron with 22 points and 16 rebounds but fouled out early in extra time. Chris Lutz carried the Boosters down the stretch, but couldn’t get the job done by himself.

The Boosters, who were in the lead for majority of the game, had a chance to snatch the win on Alex Cabagnot’s heave from the half court at the buzzer in regulation, but the ball rattled out.