MANILA, Philippines—Rain or Shine withstood a furious Meralco fight back down the stretch to reign, 89-84, Wednesday in the 2011 PBA Philippine Cup.
For a commendable 3-1 start in the conference, the Elastopainters drew balanced scoring from their wards with Gabe Norwood leading with 14 points and six rebounds.
A monster second-half assault widened the gap as Rain or Shine outscored Meralco, 30-9, in the third quarter alone.
“This is a big win for us. It gets us back to winning track. I’m very happy with the way we played defense, especially in the third quarter,” said Yeng Guiao.
The Elastopainters led by as many as 25 points, 78-53—which came in handy when the Bolts came storming back in the game.
“It’s risky, but that’s the reason why you want to have that lead in the end game,” added Guiao.
Meralco didn’t go down without shocking Rain or Shine with a slew of three pointers for a 35-point output in the fourth quarter.
The Ryan Gregorio-mentored squad was able to slash the bulk of the lead down to 79-84 with just a minute left—but it was a little too late for Meralco, which absorbed its second loss.
Mark Macapagal led all scorers with 20 points for the Bolts while Chico Lanete poured all but two of his 14 points in the payoff period.