Jeff Chan Photo by KC Cruz
MANILA, Philippines — Jeff Chan buried a triple in the waning seconds to shoot Rain or Shine past Barako Bull, 99-95, in the 2014 PLDT myDSL Philippine Cup Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Chan was left open after the Energy’s defense collapsed on Paul Lee and he sank the go-ahead 3-pointer that gave the Elasto Painters a 97-95 lead with 8.2 seconds left.
“It’s a good thing Jeff (Chan) saved the day for us. Jeff was playing great all night long and it was just appropriate the it was his shot that won us the game,” said ROS head coach Yeng Guiao.
“Intal, Peña and Miranda had great games. We’re lucky to survive a great offensive night from those guys,” added Guiao.
Gabe Norwood sealed Rain or Shine’s sixth win in nine games with a steal on JC Intal before draining two free throws with 0.3 tenths of a second left.
The former Far Eastern U star Chan finished with 34 points, just a point shy of tying his career-high. He hit seven triples and already had 19 points by halftime.
The Painters led and lost a 14-point halftime lead as the Energy even took the edge, 95-94, on a jumper by veteran guard Willie Miller with 18.1 ticks to go.
ROS didn’t have the services of its big man Beau Belga due to measles and Guiao admitted that his team missed Belga’s presence on the floor though he didn’t want to make it an excuse for almost losing the game despite leading big at one point.
Intal led Barako Bull, which fell to 3-7, with 16 points while Dorian Peña had 15 points and 13 rebounds.