Fiery Painters sweep Bolts, nail title berth

RAIN or Shine slasher Ryan Araña (center) gets no chance to attack the basket as Meralco’s Sean Anthony (left) and Cliff Hodge gang up on him in last night’s Game 3 at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao didn’t exactly like advancing to the Finals this way.

Meralco, on the other hand, absolutely loved bowing out in the style that it did.

The Elasto Painters encountered some rough sailing against an import-less Meralco crew before prevailing, 107-98, Tuesday night to book the first slot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title series with a 3-0 sweep of the Bolts at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

“We got a really big break with their import not able to play. It’s just too bad,” Guiao said. “It certainly took something out of it (win). We would have wanted them to have played their import and battled it out like they did in the first two games.”

But even without the injured Josh Davis, the Bolts showed the stuff they are made of and fought it out gallantly, roaring back from an early 19-point deficit to even lead by five, before succumbing to the bench depth the Painters enjoyed.

Davis suited up but had his left arm in a sling because of a hyper-extended shoulder sustained in a Game 2 loss on Sunday night.

“Things happen,” Guiao said of the injury on Davis. “It happened to them. It happened to us before. That’s part of the mystery of basketball.”

Raymond Almazan and Paul Lee resuscitated the Painters in the third period, combining for 22 of the 35 that Rain or Shine dropped on the Bolts to take control.

Lee went on to finish with 23 points that went with six assists, while import Wayne Chism continued to struggle and finished with 16.

He did make up for his sub-par offensive effort with 11 rebounds and missed a triple double by just three assists.

Rain or Shine will now await the winner of the Purefoods-Talk ‘N Text series, which is tied at 1-all. The breaker slated is Thursday at 7 p.m., also at the storied Big Dome floor.

“They (Bolts) really had a chance in this series,” Guiao said. “The scores don’t reflect how difficult this series was for us. We were the ones who had to make the adjustments.”

Reynel Hugnatan and Mark Macapagal scored 20 points apiece to pace the Bolts, who still booked the highest finish for their franchise despite failing to win a game in their first Final Four series.

The scores:

RAIN OR SHINE 107—Lee 23, Chism 16, Almazan 14, Arana 12, Norwood 10, Uyloan 8, Tiu 7, Belga 7, Ibanes 2, Teng 2, Cruz Jericho 2, Cruz Jervy 2, Quinahan 2, Tang 0.

MERALCO 98—Hodge 20, Macapagal 20, Hugnatan 19, Anthony 14, Cortez 11, Caram 4, Wilson 3, Ildefonso 3, Sena 2, Ferriols 2, David 0.

Quarters: 31-21, 49-52, 84-74, 107-98