MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine rode on the exploits of its reserve crew as it fended off Sta. Lucia’s fourth-quarter rally for a 91-81 win in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.
With JayR Reyes, Eddie Laure, TY Tang and Marcy Arellano rising to the occasion with the team under siege, the Elasto Painters survived and salvaged a win that kept them in contention for the Magic Five.
Reyes made eight of his 16 points in the fourth period while Laure, Tang and Arellano combined for 13 as Rain or Shine improved to 7-6, just half-game behind fifth-running Barangay Ginebra (8-6).
The loss booted Sta. Lucia from the outright quarterfinal race as it suffered its 10th loss against four wins.
“I’m happy we won the game but not happy how we got it. Every time we got a big lead, there’s the tendency to relax. If not for our bench, we could have even lost the game,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia.
“Every game from now on is important. It’s a test of character for us. We still have to fix things and improve if we want to get outright quarters entry,” Garcia added.
“The energy is there but obviously we still lack jelling. We lack the ability to finish a game,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez.
The Elasto Painters squandered a 14-point lead but recovered as they went to their shock-troopers in the fourth quarter.
James Yap knocked in an eight-foot jumper from the left corner with 6.7 seconds left and B-MEG Derby Ace overcame playing import-less in the last six minutes of play, nipping San Miguel Beer, 83-82, in the second game.
The Llamados was solo third at 9-6 while pulling the Beermen down to 11-3, a full game behind the league leading Talk n Text Tropang Texters (12-2).