Wayne Chism of Rain or Shine (right) vs Ivan Johnson of Talk ‘N Text. PBA IMAGE
It’s all tied up.
Rain or Shine fought back an offensive blur and took Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals 116-108 to tie the series at 1-1 Friday evening at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Down 58-41 in the second quarter, after Jayson Castro went crazy from deep, the Elasto Painters found their rhythm in the second half with a blistering 16-3 run to take the lead at 78-76.
Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said the victory showed the mental resolve of his players as they bore witness to Castro’s 27 points in the first half, including seven three-pointers.
“I have to give credit to the guys, they just survived a 17-point difference, we survived Jayson Castro’s incredible performance in the first half,” Guiao said. “I just kept telling them to weather the storm and stay in their game and stick with the game plan.”
Rain or Shine found their groove in the fourth as they sketched a 10-2 run with Wayne Chism nailing a three from the left wing to give the Painters a 99-91 lead.
Paul Lee gave Rain or Shine’s biggest lead with a booming three at the 3:24 mark of the fourth making it 110-100.
“[This victory] gives us great confidence, if we can survive a 27-point onslaught from Jayson; against a tough team like Talk ‘N Text you overcome a 17-point lead and you still win the game, you know you can play,” Guiao said.
“You know you can play with the best. That’s the great confidence that this game gives us.”
Chism led five Painters who scored in double-figures as he put up 30 points to go along 13 boards and three steals.
Lee added 20 while Jeff Chan had 17. Gabe Norwood and Jireh Ibañes combined for 30 points.
Castro had a monstrous game of 44 points, the first person since Allan Caidic in 1987 to score at least 44 points in the Finals, on 9-of-14 shooting from deep.
Ivan Johnson added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Texters while Ranidel de Ocampo and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser combined for 25 points. RC
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 116—Chism 30, Lee 20, Chan 17, Norwood 14, Ibanes 12, Belga 8, Arana 7, Almazan 4, Teng 2, Quinahan 2, Cruz Jericho 0, Tang 0, Tiu 0, Cruz Jervy 0
TALK N’ TEXT 108—Castro 44, Johnson 20, De Ocampo 15, Rosser 10, Fonacier 8, Alas 5, Williams 2, Seigle 2, Aban 2
Quarters: 27-26, 49-62, 85-84, 116-108