Rain or Shine boys triumph
RAIN or Shine saw a 15-point second-quarter lead razed but hung on to nip Globalport, 67-65, Sunday and bag the 2016 Under Armour-Batang PBA championship at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The final game between the tournament’s most dominant teams went down the wire after the Batang Pier rallied from a 44-29 deficit just before halftime to turn the potential rout into a cliffhanger.
The Star Hotshots, meantime, salvaged some pride by edging the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 49-48, for third place, fighting back from double-digit deficits in the third quarter and from 40-33 going to the last 10 minutes.
Phoenix led, 32-20, after two quarters but couldn’t protect the advantage in the face of Star’s torrid assault in the fourth quarter.
The scores:
First Game
STAR 49—Sison 13, Paguiligan 12, Pangillinan 10, Ganotisi 6, Jimenea 4, Vargas 2, Velasco 2, Galotera 0, Sonzua 0, Chua 0, Santos 0, Mendoza 0, Soriano 0, Alarcon 0, Amora 0.
PHOENIX 48—Nobleza 11, Olivar 8, Ramirez 7, Aseron 5, Reguera 5, Patawaran 4, Tablizo 3, Ramilo 2, Santos 2, Reyes 1, Sison 0, Tonido 0, Magtibay 0, Retis 0, Rodriguez 0.
Quarters: 10-16, 20-32, 33-40, 49-48
Second Game
RAIN OR SHINE 67—Durante 17, Vergara 14, Chua 12, Garcia 7, Nadurata 5, Cosme 3, Francia 3, Isidro 2, Masiglat 2, Fabe 2, Evangelista 0, Thai 0, Liwanag 0, Lopez 0, Vendero 0.
GLOBALPORT 65—Espina 13, Lu 11, Tupaz 9, Santos 9, Dagdagan 6, J. LLegaspi 5, Alas 5, Dacanay 3, Fullo 2, Alforte 2, G. Legaspi 0, Javier 0, Tan 0, Arejola 0, Favis 0, Sta. Maria 0.
Quarters: 20-21, 44-31, 49-46, 67-65
