E-Painters repulse Aces in OT

Game today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

8 p.m. – Talk n Text vs San Mig Coffee

MANILA, Philippines - Beau Belga hit two clutch baskets in overtime to cap a career high-tying 21-point job and Rain or Shine overcame a gritty stand by an all-Filipino Alaska side in the last 12 minutes of play, carving out a 123-121 thriller to force a sudden death in their PBA Governors Cup Final Four matchup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

With his teammates losing their touch and steam in a wild finish, Belga rose to the occasion, scoring the game’s last two baskets to rescue the Elasto Painters and send their best-of-five series to a rubber match.

Jayvee Casio flubbed what could have been a game-winning three-pointer in the dying seconds and the E-Painters eventually escaped with the win, sending the playoff to a full distance. The Alaska playmaker also missed shoving the Aces to the lead when he slipped on a breakaway with the count tied at 121 with 33.9 seconds left.

Rain or Shine and Alaska duel for one last time for a shot at the Governors Cup crown at 5 p.m. tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, grand slam-seeking San Mig Coffee and former Philippine Cup three-peat champ Talk n Text square off in their own do-or-die battle at 8 tonight, also at the Big Dome.

“For us, this is it. We wanted to get to a Game Five and now we are here. What’s left is to finish the job and leave all our energy on the court. We will be all out,” said coach Norman Black whose TnT troops forced the rubber match with victories in Games Three and Four.

But the Mixers are out to bounce back and keep their grand slam bid alive.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t get it Wednesday night, but we’re certainly not discouraged. We felt from the beginning that this series was going to go down to the wire, so it’s no surprise to us that we’re playing a Game Five,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.

“We’ve played a bunch of these knockout games over the past couple of years, so we’re not intimidated by them. We’re just going to go out and put together the best game possible and see what happens,” Cone added.

It’s either the Mixers gaining a franchise record fourth straight finals and a shot at the Triple Crown or the Texters avenging their Commissioner’s Cup finals setback to San Mig Coffee and earning a crack at a first title after their three-year reign as all-Filipino champs from 2011-13.

Rain or Shine forced the rubber match against Alaska while drawing big breaks in the crunch.

“We didn’t imagine this would be this difficult. We got a break of a lifetime with the slip of Jayvee Casio,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao referring to Casio’s slip on a wet portion of the floor on the way to a breakaway layup for what could have been a 123-121 edge for Alaska.

Another big blow for the Aces was losing import Henry Walker on a flagrant infraction on Paul Lee with 6:24 left in regulation play.

Felled to the floor by Walker’s elbow on the back of his head, Lee stood up, stayed in the battle and helped extend the game to extra five minutes.

In a game marked by a total of 29 three-pointers between the two teams, Lee drained the last of their 14 triples, giving them a 115-113 lead.

But Casio hit a runner and the Aces completed a rally from an 11-point deficit minus their import in the last six minutes, sending the game into OT on an 18-7 closing run.