Paul Lee of Rain or Shine (dark) vs Stanley Pringle of Globalport (light). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines-It wasn’t pretty but the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters survived the pesky Globalport Batang Pier, 104-98, to crave their second win of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine squandered a 15-point lead, 71-56 in the third quarter as the persistent Terrence Romeo put Globalport to as close as he can in the fourth.
Romeo nailed three three-pointers in the last two minutes of regulation, his last one cutting the lead to four, 98-94, as he hit one from the top of the key with 42.1 remaining.
With 18.7 remaining, it was Romeo’s backcourt partner Stanley Pringle to give the dramatics with a layup off a missed Calvin Leslie free-throw to close the gap at 101-98.
Paul Lee, however, would give Rain or Shine the last laugh as he iced two free-throws to put it at 103-98 with 17.1 remaining.
Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said, even with the win, that they can’t always rely on the end game to carve out wins.
“You also have to win games comfortably,” Guiao said as his team nailed a 2-1 win-loss record. “We can’t keep struggling in the end game.”
Guiao added that close games develop his team’s character and it also helps them get the rhythm that they want to find.
“Still a win for us, we must focus stringing up as many wins as we can,” Guiao said. “Just being able to carve out wins is going to help that rhythm we’re looking for.”
Rain or Shine used a 14-0 rally midway through the third to put some sort of separation between them and the Batang Pier with import Richard Jackson hitting on his offense to put the boards at 71-56.
Lee paced the Elasto Painters with 25 points, including a perfect 10 from the charity stripe.
Jackson had 16 points, 18 rebounds, six assists and two blocks for Rain or Shine.
Romeo led the charge for the 1-2 Batang Pier with 29 points as he went on an amazing six-of-seven from downtown.
Leslie joined Romeo in the bridge with 29 points of his own to go along with 17 rebounds.
Pringle added 16 points for Globalport.
Box scores
RAIN OR SHINE 104 – Lee 25, Jackson 16, Cruz 10, Chan 9, Belga 9, Tang 8, Uyloan 7, Norwood 7, Arana 6, Almazan 3, Tiu 2, Quinahan 2, Ibanes 0.
GLOBALPORT 98 – Leslie 29, Romeo 29, Pringle 16, Isip 8, Buenafe 4, Ponferrada 4, Miranda 3, Jensen 3, Semerad 1, Taha 1, Caperal 0, Pinto 0, Baclao 0, De Ocampo 0.
Quarterscores: 27-20, 53-52, 75-58, 104-98