Damien James of Alaska (light) vs Gabe Norwood of Rain or SHine (dark). NUKI SABIO
MANILA, Philippines—Clicking when it mattered most, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters survived the Alaska Aces, 99-89, behind the heroics of Gabe Norwood in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup showdown Friday evening at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Norwood scored seven of his 14 points in the final two minutes of the game to give Rain or Shine a 4-2 win-loss record.
With only a single point separating them from the persistent Aces, 86-85, with 2:17 remaining, Norwood rose from the left wing to sink a booming trifecta making it 89-85.
He then followed it up with a layup off a steal in the break and baseline jumper at the 1:16 mark to give the Painters a 93-85 window with 1:16 remaining.
Rain or Shine played without injured guard Paul Lee, who has a swollen left elbow which he sustained in their Thursday practice, but enjoyed the services of returning import Wayne Chism.
Painters head coach Yeng Guiao admitted that he wasn’t prepared to use a lineup without Lee but was thankful for Chism’s return.
“It’s a good thing Wayne is back, he knows the players and he knows the system,” Guiao said of his import from the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup.
“Wayne’s game justifies our presence in the league.”
Beau Belga gave the Painters a 10-point lead, 95-85, with a pull-up jumper from the baseline at the 46.3 mark.
Guiao added that the final score did not reflect how close the game was, admitting that they survived despite their horrible free-throw shooting and the immense pressure that Alaska put on them.
“Alaska put a lot of pressure on us and we’re happy we survived,” Guiao said, whose team shot 48 percent, 12/25, from the charity stripe.
Wayne led Rain or Shine with 24 points and 22 rebounds with TY Tang adding 18 points.
Alaska import Damion James led all scorers with 28 points to go along 16 boards.
Calvin Abueva, despite getting hurt in his left ankle and left knee, had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for the 2-4 Aces.
Rain or Shine is now at the third seed while Alaska is at seventh.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 99–Chism 24, Chan 18, Norwood 14, Tiu 11, Uyloan 9, Belga 9, Cruz 6, Arana 3, Almazan 3, Tang 2, Ibanes 0, Quinahan 0
ALASKA 89–James 28, Baguio 12, Manuel 11, Abueva 10, Hontiveros 9, Jazul 8, Casio 5, Exciminiano 4, Menk 2, Eman 0, Banchero 0, Espinas 0, Dela Rosa 0, Dela Cruz 0
Quarterscores: 26-16, 48-39, 67-63, 99-89