MANILA, Philippines – Gary David was the usual object of adoration of the hoarse-shouting Powerade crowd.
Not on this night.
“I know that JV will deliver for us in this series,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol.
“There was a time that the Rain Or Shine defense kept choking us and I didn’t know what to do. JV simply created and made things happen for us,” added Perasol.
Lassiter made the marginal free throws and pulled off a defensive gem by swiping Larry Rodriguez’s gimme basket that completed the Tigers’ comeback from a six-point deficit in the final 1:44.
In the main game, Jimmy Alapag buried a go-ahead three-pointer with 44.2 seconds remaining as Talk ‘N Text survived Petron Blaze, 93-91, and kept its title-retention bid alive.
The Tropang Texters, however, are still down in their best-of-seven semis series, 2-3, and would need to gut it out again in Game 6 Sunday after losing starters Kelly Williams (swollen right hamstring) and Ryan Ryan (wrist) to injuries.
Arwind Santos’ three hit nothing but air in Petron’s desperation attempt to turn things around with 8.5 ticks left. Danny Ildefonso, the team’s hero in Game 4, caught the ball underneath but fumbled it as time expired.
The Elasto Painters had a pair of opportunities to forge to extra time but Jeff Chan’s three from the corner bounced high off the rim before Beau Belga’s 10-footer was off the mark, giving the Tigers a 3-2 edge in their best-of-seven series.
Casio, trying to find his rhythm coming in, brought the Tigers back to life with a long corner jumper that he finished off with a three-point play on a JR Quinahan foul that pushed Powerade within 107-108 with 36.6 second remaining.
David went eight of 21 from the field and finished with 28 points, ending the scoring champion’s string of 30-plus points after six straight games.
Casio, this year’s top overall pick, pumped in 25 points, 20 of them in the second half, while Lassiter had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who climbed from a 68-59 hole to make a game out of it.
“JV’s three-point play was tremendous. But in the end, what mattered most were the stop that we made,” said Perasol.
After Norwood’s floater bumped them up, 108-103, the Elasto Painters went scoreless in the last 1:17 as Quinahan, Ronjay Buenafe, Chan and Belga threw bricks at the time they needed it most.
Buenafe squeezed in the lane but his undergoal shot never had the line, triggering a mouthful from Rain Or Shine coach Yeng Guiao and a fast break that led to Lassiter’s game-clinching freebies.
“There was a time in the last two minutes that my mind wasn’t into it. I was just praying and asking God to give me the wisdom what to do,” said Perasol.
His prayers were heard when Lassiter and Casio presided over a scorching endgame act after the Rain Or Shine defense swarmed on David.
Quinahan paced Rain Or Shine with eight of his 18 points coming in the fourth when the E-Painters engaged the Tigers in a brief exchange of baskets that put them on top, 106-100, with 1:44 left.