Lutz fuels Petron win over Rain or Shine 96-86

Arwind Santos and Beau Belga. PBA IMAGES by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines – Petron Blaze leaned on a balanced attack to repulse Rain or Shine 96-86 Wednesday night and stop a three-game slide in the 38th PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Chris Lutz continued his consistent play with 19 points, eight of which in the pivotal third period where the Boosters zoomed to a commanding 22-point advantage, 79-57.

“It feels good to finally win after losing three games. We needed this win badly, not only for the standings but more for our confidence,” said Petron head coach Olsen Racela.

“We lost to teams that were below the standings and I feel that this win against a top team will bring our confidence back.”

Petron pulled away from a one-point edge 46-45 in the third quarter as it outscored Rain or Shine 33-12.

The Elasto Painters erased an early deficit and threatened another rally as it moved to within 11, 77-88, after Jireh Ibañes completed a three-point play with 5:31 left.

ROS blew several chances to trim the deficit further with JR Quiñahan missing a gimme before Jeff Chan uncharacteristically coming up empty on his trip to the charity stripe.

Alex Cabagnot converted on the other end on a drive followed by another one from Jay Washington for a 94-78 lead off a block by Arwind Santos.

Santos finished with a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds while Washington chipped in 14 markers as the Boosters won only its fourth win in 10 games.

Chan slowed down after his 12-point explosion in the second quarter to finish with a team-high 20 points.

ROS, which is still missing key players Paul Lee and Chris Tiu, fell to 6-3.