Jamelle Conrley vs Marcus Blakely PBA IMAGE/Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines—Import Jamelle Cornley scored 25 points to lead Rain or Shine (ROS) to an emphatic 91-80 win over B-Meg Sunday night and take a 1-0 headstart in their PBA Governors Cup’s best-of-seven championship series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The Finals inexperience hardly showed for the Elasto Painters as they turned things around in the second half keyed in by their defense and timely treys.
“I’m proud of my team, they were able to handle the pressure in the Finals and the way we played our defense in the second half,” said ROS head coach Yeng Guiao.
Rain or Shine shot 51.5 percent from the field while also holding B-Meg to 39.5 percent.
Cornley added 11 rebounds and four assists. He also scored 13 points in the pivotal third quarter where the Elasto Painters reclaimed the lead.
Paul Lee, a clear-cut winner for the Rookie of the Year Award, added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Gabe Norwood also gave ROS a lift with six of his 10 points stretching his team’s lead to 83-65 with 4:14 left.
Lee and Cornley put the finishing touches with a three-point play and a tomahawk dunk respectively.
James Yap carried the load for the Llamados with 19 points as Marcus Blakely was hobbled by foul troubles. Yap, though, went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Blakely picked up his fifth foul at the 3:45 mark of the third period.
B-Meg head coach Tim Cone got ejected after throwing a monoblock chair on the court with 7:23 left.