RAIN or Shine’s Jireh Ibañez fouls Marqus Blakely as the San Mig Coffee import makes a pass in last night’s game at the Big Dome. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines — Finishing what he started, Arizona Reid knocked in a jumper from the left corner with 1.1 seconds left last night to key a 95-94 Rain or Shine win over San Mig Coffee at Smart Araneta Coliseum and No. 2 ranking in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs.
Reid was responsible for a hot Rain or Shine start, scoring 20 points in the first period alone before topping his 39-point effort—and rescuing the Elasto Painters from a big collapse—with that winning jumper.
The Painters played with command for the first three quarters, even taking a 60-46 lead into the second half.
Rain or Shine thus closed out with a 6-3 card after winning a fifth straight game and gave idle Alaska a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals while relegating powerhouse San Miguel Beer to the bottom half of the draw.
The result of the final game of the eliminations sealed the Painters’ quarterfinal date with Air21, with Rain or Shine needing to win just once to advance to the Final Four.
Alaska now also has the same privilege against Barangay Ginebra, while the defending champion Mixers will play with the same advantage against the Beermen at 8 p.m. Tuesday also at the Big Dome in Cubao.
Talk ‘N Text, which finished No. 1 for the second straight conference, will tangle with No. 8 Barako Bull in the 5:45 p.m. first game. Monday night’s game actually had little consequence for the Painters and the Mixers as both Yeng Guiao and Tim Cone shuffled their men and gave most of their starters precious time on the bench for the playoffs.
Ronnie Matias, a former Painters forward, gave the Mixers a 94-93 lead with three seconds to go with a putback of a Marqus Blakely miss before Guiao drew up the perfect play that Reid translated into the winning basket.
“This game didn’t feel like it was no-bearing,” Guiao said later. “We want to get to the next round on a winning note. Both teams just tried to keep their players fresh because there’s little rest in the playoffs.”
Meanwhile, NLEX will try to join the league in October not as an expansion club, but with a solid core from an existing franchise it is hoping to buy before the current season ends on July 15.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the conglomerate that owns NLEX, Monday informed the league of this decision, reserving its P100-million franchise fee as seed money to fund its purchase of an existing club. Reports said the team is Air21.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 95— Reid 39, Norwood 12, Almazan 10, Belga 8, Lee 7, Cruz 6, Chan 6, Teng 4, Arana 3, Uyloan 0, Tiu 0, Nuyles 0, Ibanes 0, Rodriguez 0.
SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE 94—Pingris 15, Sangalang 14, Simon 13, Blakely 10, Yap 8, Taha 7, Melton 7, Barroca 6, Mallari 6, Devance 4, Maliksi 2, Matias 2, Holstein 0.
Quarters: 34-28, 60-46, 77-73, 95-94