Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Paul Lee reminded Rain or Shine what it used to have as he towed Star to a 99-91 victory in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jio Jalalon beat the shot clock to break the 88-all deadlock as Lee followed up with a three and assisted on a pair of long bombs from Aldrech Ramos in the clutch to help Hotshots nab their third straight win.
Simon topped the Hotshots with 16 points, while Lee got 14 markers, four assists, and three rebounds.
Jalalon also added 14 points, six dimes, and five boards, while Ramos went 4-of-4 from threes to finish with 12.
“It’s all credit to the players, they gave their best effort and they committed to our defense,” said Star coach Chito Victolero. “I’m very proud of my players. Whatever we prepared for, we executed it today.”
It was a weird sight seeing former teammates turn into foes and the main protagonists didn’t shy away from the spotlight. James Yap and Peter June Simon guarded each other relentlessly and even fired shots on each other’s faces, while Beau Belga did not hesitate to give up a hard foul on Lee when the latter drove to the basket.
But through all the emotions and storylines, the game turned out the way everyone expected it to be a down-the-wire affair with Lee and Ramos delivering the goods in the endgame.
“We tried our best for our players to not get emotional, but we know that won’t happen so we just stayed composed. We were aggressive but I think we were more composed in the final five minutes of the game,” said Victolero.
Star tied Rain or Shine and two other teams in Blackwater and TNT in third at 3-2.
Raymond Almazan topped the Elasto Painters with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Jay Washington got 14 markers and six boards.
Yap finished with nine points and shot 3-of-10 from the field in his first game against his former franchise.
Forward Japeth Aguilar also finished in double figures for the Gin Kings with 12 points but the tallest player on the floor at 6-foot-9 failed to grab a single rebound against an undersized Alaska frontcourt.
The scores:
STAR 99 – Simon 16, Jalalon 14, Lee 14, Ramos 12, Maliksi 11, Pingris 11, Melton 6, Sangalang 6, Dela Rosa 5, Barroca 4, Reavis 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 91 – Almazan 19, Washington 14, Tolomia 11, Norwood 10, Yap 9, Ponferada 8, Ahanmisi 7, Belga 6, Cruz 5, Chan 2.
Quarters: 23-23, 42-41, 74-75, 99-91.