Painters nip Bolts behind Quiñahan’s trey
MANILA, Philippines – JR Quiñahan drained the winning triple at the buzzer Wednesday night as Rain or Shine won a sixth straight game, 89-86, over Meralco to stay within an earshot of a top two finish in the elimination round of the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The burly center was the unlikely finisher in the last Rain or Shine play carved out with just seven-tenths of a second left, and Quiñahan’s conversion gave the Painters at least a share of second place heading into the final three playdates of the first phase.
At 10-3, the Painters moved in solo second behind pacesetting Barangay Ginebra Kings and are a game ahead of the Petron Blaze Boosters, who absorbed a 93-112 beating at the hands of the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the second game.
“We’re just taking this momentum all the way to where it is going to take us. Six-game winning streak, somehow there’s some pressure there,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao told reporters later.
“But we just try to put it at the back of our heads and try to salvage second place for twice-to-beat.” The loss stalled the Bolts’ march into the quarterfinals outright at 5-8.
It was the second such painful defeat for Meralco, who also dropped a game to the Gin Kings earlier in the elimination round courtesy of a Japeth Aguilar triple also at the buzzer.
“It has always been tough playing Meralco,” Guiao added. “The first time also boiled down to the endgame. We’re lucky. We’re riding a streak of good luck.”
Gary David also hit a great triple on the other end with 8.6 to go that tied the count for the last time at 86, only for the Bolts to be felled by a greater triple by Quiñahan.
“One tsamba (lucky shot) deserves another,” Guiao said with a smile.
“It was a great shot taken by Gary and an even bigger shot taken by JR simply because it was the winning shot.”
Jeff Chan paced the Painters with 16 points and former Rookie of the Year Paul Lee added 14.
Lee also missed sealing the deal for the Painters earlier when he split his charities with 14.8 seconds to go which allowed David to tie the game.
David, the scoring champion the last two seasons, scattered 25 points that went with eight rebounds, with John Wilson adding 12.
Reynel Hugnatan and Jared Dillinger completed double-doubles for the Bolts, who close out against Petron Blaze on Saturday.s
The scores:
First Game
RAIN OR SHINE 89—Chan 16, Lee 14, Norwood 10, Cruz 8, Belga 7, Almazan 7, Ibañes 7, Rodriguez 6, Quiñahan 5, Nuyles 4, Teng 3, Tiu 2, Arana 0, Tang 0.
MERALCO 86—David 25, Wilson 12, Hugnatan 11, Dillinger 11, Salvacion 8, Artadi 6, Al-Hussaini 5, Ildefonso 4, Hodge 4, Guevarra 0.
Quarters: 23-21, 45-45, 70-64, 89-86
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