Rain or Shine nears crown

Here comes Jun Jun Cabatu again.

Picking up where he left off in Game 1, Cabatu took charge for Rain or Shine again yesterday, firing nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to power the Elasto Paints to a 75-73 win and move the team within a win away of sweeping the PBL Heroes Cup crown at the San Andres gym.

Three days after lifting Rain or Shine with a buzzer-beating jumper for a thrilling 70-68 overtime win in the opener of their best-of-five series, Cabatu was at it again, delivering the crucial blows for the Wizards, including five crucial points in the last three minutes of play.

"I really didn’t expect him to play this big, but he’s just showing that he really wants us to win," said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia, referring to the son of former PBA cager Sonny Cabatu.

The Elasto Painters gun for a sweep on Thursday.

"We have a chance to go for a sweep and we’re going for it on Thursday," added Garcia, hoping to give the Well-Best owned franchise its second straight crown and seventh overall in the league.

Magnolia, behind the power duo of Kelly Williams and Arwind Santos, actually seized control early, racing to a 21-7 first quarter lead, only to yield to a roaring Rain or Shine side, which settled down, kept its rivals within striking distance before rallying to grab a 62-59 advantage early in the final period.

The high-leaping Williams uncorked an eight-point explosion to give the Wizards a 67-66 lead with 3.06 minutes to go in the contest but that proved to be Magnolia’s last taste of the lead as Rain or Shine fought back to regain control.

Thanks to Cabatu, who came through with the baskets that mattered most.

Williams and Santos had another superb outing as they combined for 37 points and 17 rebounds. But like in Game One, Cabatu put their efforts to naught with his late heroics.

Earlier, Rain or Shine’s Jojo Tangkay was named the conference’s MVP after garnering 344.80 points, besting Jason Castro of Hapee Toothpaste-PCU with 275.62.

Joining Tangkay and Castro in the first Mythical Team were Magnolia’s Williams (239.03) and Santos (235.63) and Rain or Shine‘s Jay-R Reyes (224.06) while rounding up the top 10 were Harbour Centre‚s Rob Reyes (223.90) and Joseph Yeo (218.28), Hapee’s Gabby Espinas (222.97) and Rob Sanz (202.73) and Toyota Otis‚ Joe Devance (217.92).