Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Rain or Shine stayed firmly in the fight for an outright Final Four slot in the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup after rallying to repulse Meralco, 97-87, Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Raymond Almazan notched career-highs of 21 and 17 rebounds and Jeff Chan tossed in 24 for the Elasto Painters, who rose to 8-2 for solo second place going into the final three playdates of the elimination round.
“We had to bleed for this one, which is a really big game for us,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “We have one game to go, that’s going to be a playoff game for us.”
Rain or Shine will still clash with NLEX this Saturday with a win giving the Painters at least the No. 2 ranking and the second automatic semifinal slot, while a loss could drag them into a playoff depending on the Alaska-San Miguel Beer setto going on at press time.
Jericho Cruz was the third man in twin digits for Guiao with 13.
Jared Dillinger led the Bolts with 15 points and rookie Baser Amer chipped in 13.
Gary David, the former two-time scoring champion, was held scoreless in a 14-minute stint for Meralco. The last time David laid a big fat egg was also against the Painters in Game 3 of the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals last season.
Meralco, which last week became the first team to bow out of contention, ended its season-opening campaign with a 1-10 record.
“Meralco’s win-loss record doesn’t indicate the real strength of that team,” Guiao said. “They led us by 10 points and we were kind of feeling the pressure.”
The scores:
First Game
RAIN OR SHINE 97—Chan 24, Almazan 21, Cruz 13, Belga 9, Norwood 8, Quiñahan 5, Ahanmisi 4, Ponferada 4, Teng 3, Ibañes 2, Matias 2, Trollano 2, Tiu 0.
MERALCO 87—Dillinger 15, Amer 13, Newsome 12, Alapag 10, Nabong 9, Hodge 8, Hugnatan 8, Buenafe 7, Al-Hussaini 5, David 0, Faundo 0.
Quarters: 23-22, 42-49, 67-66, 97-87