Rookies shine as E-Painters seal 2nd seed

MANILA, Philippines – Rookies Alex Nuyles and Raymond Almazan made a decisive run for Rain or Shine in the final half, thwarting Air21’s determined chase and preserving a key 104-94 win that sealed the Elasto Painters’ second ranking in the playoffs of the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Saturday night.

Nuyles and Almazan combined for 15 straight points in a crucial flurry after the Express came charging back from a 20-point deficit, 23-43, and threatened at 74-77 late in the third quarter.

The RoS freshmen restored a commanding 92-74 spread for the team early in the fourth quarter, and the Elasto Painters held on for a seventh straight win and an elimination-round closing win-loss mark of 11-3 that rewarded them a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals.

For the record, the E-Painters are going into the quarters with the decisive advantage for the third time in the last five conferences.

“It’s a measure of consistency of our team,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao of their achievement.

“We’re not the most talented team, not the tallest, not the most expensive, but we’ve been able to stay consistent by applying our system and our philosophy,” Guiao added.

As always, the E-Painters fought well with a well-balanced game and repelled the Express’ gritty stand, sending Air21 to a 3-11 finish.

“We prepared seriously for this game. We knew how dangerous Air21 is especially playing without pressure,” said Guiao. “We didn’t take them lightly. It’s our way of trying to maintain our winning streak and the momentum to be ready for the playoffs.”

As the second seed, Rain or Shine – runner-up to Talk n Text in this tourney last year – plays the seventh seed in the quarterfinals with two cracks at making the Final Four.

Petron settled for third spot with a 10-4 mark in the elims capped by a 96-87 conquest of Meralco earlier in the night.

“It’s good way to bounce back from a loss. It’s a big win, giving us some sort of momentum going into the quarters. It’s gonna give us positive attitude whoever we face in the quarters,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla.

 â€œWe’re happy we stayed the course. And the guys are healthier going into the playoffs,” Abanilla also said.

For Meralco, the sorry consequence of the loss is a possible relegation to a playoff for the last quarters slot.

Alaska Milk seeks to force the playoff as it tangles with Barako Bull in a crucial match at the end of the elims Sunday at the Big Dome.

A win by Alaska will force a four-way logjam among the Aces, the Energy Cola, the Globalport Batang Pier and the Bolts from sixth to ninth places.

In such a case, the quotient system will be applied to break the tie. The two teams with the superior quotients automatically advance to the Final Eight and the two other figure in a sudden death for the last slot.

Junmar Fajardo, back in the Petron starting lineup, collected 19 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Boosters to their easy romp over the Bolts.

Chris Ross overpowered Paul Artadi in their matchup at the point and contributed 18 points coming off the bench.

Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot and Chris Lutz also produced key numbers for the Boosters who hardly missed the absence of Marcio Lassiter, currently in the US attending the wake of his grandmother. He’ll be back before the start of the playoffs.