MANILA, Philippines—Sustaining its form, Rain or Shine forged a do-or-die Game 7 after fashioning out a 112-98 triumph over Powerade Sunday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Jeff Chan unloaded 20 of his 26 points in the second half while Paul Lee scattered 15 points, three rebounds and seven assists for the Elasto Painters.
“Our energy level was a lot better today,” said ROS coach Yeng Guiao.
“We played their three scorers well. We made them work for their baskets. They will score but we just wanted them to work hard for it,” Guiao commented on his team’s defense against the Tigers’ troika of Gary David, Marcio Lassiter and JV Casio.
David and Lassiter shot 30 points each while Casio scored seven points. All three had sub-par shooting from the field.
“And I guess that’s the key. We need to sustain the pressure,” added Guiao.
ROS opened the final period with 12 unanswered points capped by a Gabe Norwood trey to establish enough cushion, 92-76, with 7:52 left to stave off elimination.
The Tigers put up one last run that cut the Painters’ buffer down to eight, 91-99, on a transition triple by David.
It was short-lived, though, as ROS got back to its own ways at the offensive end to pull away for good.
No player from Rain or Shine logged 30 minutes or more while Powerade continued to play its key players extended minutes.
David played a game-high 42 minutes while Lassiter sweated out in 41 minutes. Casio wasn’t that far behind with 36 minutes played.
Guiao also noted his team’s good ball movement as ROS had 31 assists on 44 field goals.
Game 7 is set on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
“If we can replicate this game on Wednesday we’ll be okay,” said Guiao.