E-Painters derail Batang Pier

Chan, Belga save day

Games tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:15 p.m. – Alaska vs Blackwater

7 p.m. – NLEX vs Purefoods

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine struggled from the stripe but played smart enough in a down-to-the-wire finish to withstand Globalport, 86-83, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Jeff Chan uncharacteristically fired blanks from the line in the crunch, so did Beau Belga but the duo conspired for crucial plays, helping the Elasto Painters notch their second straight win and fourth in six games overall.

“We made it tough for ourselves by missing important free throws. Jeff uncharacteristically missed his foul shots and Beau missed his in endgame,” rued Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “But a win is a win, and we’ll go to Davao (for a game versus Meralco Saturday) trying to ride the momentum some more.”

Missing 12 of 31 charities in all, the Elasto Painters blew away a 13-point halftime lead and needed to overcome an eight-point deficit in the third to hand the Batang Pier their third loss against the same number of wins.

“I thought Globalport pushed us hard to the end. We had a 13-point lead at the half but they caught up then raced ahead in a short time. This team is rising up, giving the veteran teams a hard time,” said Guiao.

The Batang Pier were still in control at 70-63 before Chan scored 12 points to cap a 19-8 tear that brought the E-Painters back on top at 82-78.

And the E-Painters could have easily closed out the game if not for their missed free throws.

From that count alone, Belga clanked four straight foul shots. Chan and Belga both finished with a woeful 3-of-7 free throws.

Nonetheless, Guiao stuck with the two, who responded with smart plays, including a hand-off by Chan to Belga underneath for a bucket that made it 84-80.

Barangay Ginebra picked up its game towards the end of the third quarter and went full throttle in the payoff period to smother Barako Bull, 94-75, and gain solo second place at 5-1 later in the night.

“The good thing that happened tonight was that we struggled for two quarters and a half, then we found a way to win,” said Ginebra coach Jeff Cariaso after overcoming a struggle and keeping Barako Bull (0-5) winless in the tourney.

Paolo Hubalde became a part of the losing team as he was traded by Ginebra to Barako Bull for Jeric Fortuna before the game.

In the closing seconds, Chan and Belga helped Rain or Shine make a tough defensive stand that eventually bailed the team out.

The two Gilas veterans, with 28 points between themselves, led six RoS players finishing in double figures.

Alex Cabagnot led all scorers with 20 points but failed to convert three important field attempts in the closing seconds.

As Cabagnot missed the second of those three tries, the Elasto Painters snared the defensive rebound and whiled away about 10 seconds before Paul Lee was tagged for a duty foul by Keith Jensen with only 4.8 ticks left.

Lee canned in both charities to make it 86-83, then Globalport again went to Cabagnot who missed another three-point try at the buzzer.

The scores:

First Game

RAIN OR SHINE 86 – Chan 16, Belga 12, Lee 11, Almazan 11, Cruz Jervy 10, Quiñahan 10, Ibañes 8, Cruz Jericho 4, Norwood 3, Teng 1, Tang 0.

GLOBALPORT 83 – Cabagnot 20, Jensen 15, Pringle 14, De Ocampo 14, Semerad 8, Isip 6, Romeo 3, Buenafe 3, Baclao 0, Ponferada 0, Nabong 0, Taha 0, Caperal 0, Pinto 0.

Quarterscores: 23-20, 49-36, 63-70, 86-83

Second Game

GINEBRA 94 – Yeo 17, Caguioa 15, Slaughter 14, Baracael 12, Aguilar 10, Ellis 7, Brondial 7, Mamaril 4, Tenorio 4, Urbiztondo 2, Helterbrand 2, Monfort 0, Forrester 0, Reyes 0.

BARAKO 75 – Miranda 19, Garcia 10, Intal 10, Pennisi 9, Wilson 7, Lastimosa 6, Pascual 5, Marcelo 3, Hubalde 2, Salvador 2, Salva 2, Paredes 0, Lanete 0.

Quarterscores: 13-23, 37-42, 64-61, 94-75