Paul Lee of Rain or Shine (light) vs Justin Melton of Purefoods (dark). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines – It all came down to that final dozen minutes.
Playing keepie-uppie with each other for almost the entire game, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters took control in the final quarter, albeit a few scary moments, pinning down the Purefoods Star Hotshots, 83-74, in the PBA Philippine Cup at Smart-Araneta Coliseum Sunday evening.
As the race for playoff spots tighten, the Elasto Painters are looking to produce their masterpiece as they go on a five-game win streak and cool down the Hotshots’ streak at four.
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said his team had the unnerving desire to win the game and get an automatic bye to the semifinals.
“I couldn’t give the guys enough credit, they wanted to win the game this badly,” Guiao said as his team go to a 7-2 win-loss card and close in on league-leaders San Miguel and Alaska which both have 8-1 records.
“Our motivation is making the semifinals, and as long as we are winning, we are keeping our hopes alive,” Guiao said.
It was Rain or Shine’s second unit who put the dagger on the Hotshots’ chest late in the match with TY Tang, who suffered a freak fall with 9:22 left in the fourth, and Jonathan Uyloan scoring on clutch baskets down the stretch.
Tang found himself in the timberlands but managed to snatch a key offensive rebound and lay the ball in to give the Painters a 77-72 lead and Uyloan followed it up with a cold-blooded three-pointer from the left wing to make it 80-72 with 1:50 remaining.
Purefoods came to as close as three, 75-72, with an inspired 10-3 run with a brilliant up-and-under move from Joe Devance and an emphatic chase down block from Justin Melton on Ryan Araña momentarily swinging the momentum to the Hotshots.
Rain or Shine played an undermanned, and undersized, lineup with shooters Jeff Chan, Chris Tiu and Jeric Teng and power forward Jervy Cruz sidelined with injury.
“Our guys pushed themselves to the limit,” Guiao said. “They may be small guys but they are small guys with big hearts.”
Paul Lee led the Elasto Painters with 18 points with Gabe Norwood, Tang and JR Quiñahan adding 11 points each.
Jericho Cruz, who was nursing back spasms, came up big from the bench with six points and one steal for Rain or Shine.
Alex Mallari came off the Purefoods bench with 12 points while James Yap and Devance added 11 and 10 points respectively as their team go to a 5-4 column.
Box scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 83- Lee 18, Norwood 11, Tang 11, Quiñahan 11, Uyloan 9, Belga 7, Cruz 6, Araña 6, Almazan 4, Ibañes 0.
PUREFOODS 74- Mallari 12, Yap 11, Devance 10, Simon 9, Melton 8, Barroca 8, Pingris 6, Maliksi 5, Reavis 4, Taha 1.