Chris Tui of Rain or Shine (dark) vs LA Tenorio of Ginebra (light). PBA photo
MANILA, Philippines — Rain or Shine foiled Gabe Freeman’s Barangay Ginebra San Miguel debut with a 105-101 win in overtime to nail the No.4 seed in the 2014 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Wayne Chism redeemed himself after a string of subpar performances – breaking out with a game-high 30 points to steal the spotlight away from the returning two-time Best Import Freeman.
“We got the stops we needed in the end game,” ROS head coach Yeng Guiao told reporters. “Gabe Freeman was a matchup problem as expected.”
“Chism showed what he can do. The win gives us a lot of confidence because lots of people are doubting our import only me and the team believes in him.”
Freeman, the Kings’ third import after Leon Rodgers and Josh Powell, got off to a blistering start – hitting his first six shots from the field en route to a 29-point night. But he scored just six points in the second half, after exploding for 17 in the first quarter alone.
Jervy Cruz’s free throws sealed the Elasto Painters’ win, 104-99, with 10.3 seconds left.
Beau Belga sent the game into OT, 94-all, with a pair of freebies with 45.3 seconds remaining before Greg Slaughter came up empty at the line and Chris Ellis misfired on a desperation trey at the end of regulation.
The locals [also] stepped up,” added Guiao, with special mention to Ryan Araña, Cruz, Paul Lee and Norwood. “This is what we wanted, a balanced offensive threat.”
The Kings muffed a game that seemed to be theirs early after building a 13-point lead at one point in the game.
The loss sent Ginebra down as the eighth seed and into a quarterfinals clash against a formidable Talk ‘N Text side with the Kings needing to beat the Tropang Texters, a squad yet to be beaten in nine outings, twice to advance.
Lee tallied 25 points for the Painters, who will face idle Meralco, in the quarters.
Slaughter and former MVP Mark Caguioa posted 22 and 17 points, respectively, as both carried the Kings in the third quarter where the Elasto Painters willed their way back.
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