Painters slam Aces, tie series

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine, barely beaten at endgame Friday, played tough through four full quarters last night, and clobbered Alaska Milk, 99-87, to force a one-game deadlock in their PLDT Home Telpad Governors Cup best-of-five semifinal faceoff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Even with combo player Gabe Norwood sidelined by a sprained ankle, the Elasto Painters sustained a solid game through 48 minutes, getting back on track after seeing their six-game run snapped by the Aces in Game One.

Shooting at a high clip and playing hard-nose defense, the E-Painters led by as many as 26 in another dominant victory over the Aces whom they beat by 51 points in the elimination round.

Alaska actually fought to within nine early in the fourth but then Paul Lee, Jeff Chan and Chris Tiu drained clutch outside shots as Rain or Shine reestablished commanding double-digit spreads and foiled the Aces’ bid to take a crucial 2-0 series lead.

Meanwhile, San Mig Coffee tries to nail a fourth straight finals and a shot at the grand slam as the Mixers go for a sweep versus the Talk n Text Tropang Texters in their side of the semis tonight also at the Big Dome.

Arizona Reid and Lee presided over Rain or Shine’s searing first half then Chan, Tiu and Beau Belga joined the fray in the final half as the E-Painters took their turn to stop Alaska’s hot streak.

“Everybody just stepped up for Gabe. We’re trying to buy some time for Gabe to get well. It gives us the confidence to beat Alaska in his absence with everybody making a contribution,” said coach Yeng Guiao after his troops dealt the Aces a first loss in their last six games.

“Our intensity level was a lot different from the last time. We wanted it more than they did tonight. We hope to sustain that desire the rest of the series,” Guiao added.

Reid top scored with 27 points, Lee added 21 while Chan and Tiu chipped in 18 and 10 in the highly physical game marred by the ejection of Gabby Espinas on two technical fouls and a flagrant foul committed by Henry Walker in shoving Belga hard with 8:13 to go in the third quarter.

With Walker needing to sit down the next three minutes of the game, the E-Painters pressed their attack and led by 26 at 71-45.

The E-Painters were cruising home when the game officials called an extended timeout to attend to a fan that seemed to suffer a heart attack at around the last five-minute mark. The fan was carried out on a stretcher and was rushed to a nearby hospital.