PBA IMAGES
Rain or Shine averted a major meltdown and salvaged a 106-102 win over NLEX in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters nearly had their two-game winning streak snapped despite building a 29-point lead in the third quarter and an 86-66 lead at the start of the fourth period with the Road Warriors able to tie the game at 91 with still 4:30 left in the game.
Paul Lee extended the Painters’ gap back to seven, 100-93, on two free throws but the game was still far from over until he calmly made two more freebies that gave Rain or Shine a 106-102 cushion with 7.2 seconds left.
“They gave us a big scare. We lost our composure for a while and it’s a good thing we were able to recover in time. We were a little overconfident when we had the big lead and we paid for it,” admitted Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao, who drew a huge game from import Wendell McKines.
“It’s a lesson for us and we will take that lesson and learn from it and we’re still in a three-game winning streak and that’s the positive thing about this,” Guiao added.
McKines recorded game-highs of 33 points and 20 rebounds for the Painters, who climbed to 4-4 and have now won their third consecutive victory.
“Wendell has been blending in. We’ve had our problems with chemistry early in the conference but he’s been able to blend in. He’s gotten to know his teammates a little better and his teammates have gotten to know him better,” Guiao said on his team’s sudden resurgence after a 1-4 start.
The 26-year-old Lee finished with 20 points, including 13 in the third quarter where the Painters appeared on their way to a blowout after taking a seemingly insurmountable 84-55 advantage late.
Syrian guard Michael Madanly paced the Road Warriors with 20 points while Kwame Alexander had a measly eight points but did provide the highlight of the night with a ferocious one-handed flush over Raymond Almazan in the fourth quarter. NLEX sank to 2-6. CFC