E-Painters post No. 2 over B Pier

Game today  (The Arena, San Juan)

5 p.m. – Alaska vs NLEX

Games tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

3 p.m. – Barako Bull vs Kia

5:15 p.m. – San Miguel Beer vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine broke away on a torrid third quarter flurry then leaned on Paul Lee’s heroics at endgame as the Elasto Painters notched their second win – a 104-98 romp over the Globalport Batang Pier in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Lee banged away a three-pointer and nailed six straight free throws in the fourth quarter as he held his own in a fiery shootout with Terrence Romeo, helping the E-Painters to their second win after their 96-91 drubbing of the NLEX Road Warriors Tuesday.

The 2012 Rookie of the Year awardee fired five treys and went 10-of-10 from the stripe in all as against Romeo’s six triples and a total of 29 markers in an explosive backcourt matchup that highlighted another exciting faceoff between the two teams.

 The Batang Pier fell short of their comeback bid and reeled to their second straight loss after a Commissioner’s Cup winning debut against the Kia Carnival.

Meanwhile, Alaska Milk and NLEX, which clashed in the quarterfinals in the last Philippine Cup, renew their rivalry in a showdown at The Arena in San Juan today, a Petron Blaze-sponsored match originally set in Polomolok, South Cotabato.

Gametime is at 5 p.m. as the two teams mix it up again after the Aces beat the Road Warriors, 82-78, a month ago during the first stage of the quarterfinals in the last all-Filipino tourney.

“That’s one-upmanship between two excellent guards. It’s a rivalry that I think is going to be interesting in this league,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao of the Lee-Romeo matchup.

“None of those guys are going to back down. It’s a matchup that’s going to be a treat for the fans for as long it doesn’t get nasty,” Guiao also said.

The game had looked headed for a rout when Romeo strung up three straight three-pointers to highlight a 14-point fourth-quarter explosion that got the Batang Pier back into the game at 94-98.

From a 53-52 halftime edge, the Elasto Painters, largely behind the efforts of Rick Jackson and Jeff Chan, broke away at 75-58 in the third period and led by as many as 18 at 76-58 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Later in the night, Marqus Blakely came through with 23 points and 13 rebounds and drew tremendous support from the second group as Purefoods Star overcame Marcus Douthit’s near triple-double performance, drubbing Blackwater, 98-86, for a third straight win.

The Hotshots will now take a five-day break and will already have Daniel Orton as import as they play the NLEX Road Warriors Wednesday.

“Daniel is in good place coming in. Hopefully, he can come in and keep us going. Marqus has a shoulder issue that he has to take care of in the US. He’ll fix his shoulder and get back by the third conference,” said Purefoods coach Tim Cone.

But Romeo and the Road Warriors waged a fourth-quarter rally and fought all the way to the finish, impressing even the Rain or Shine coach.

“Globalport played a real good game, and it was difficult to put them away,” said Guiao.

“At times, I thought we would win with some comfort but they kept coming back. Until their final possession, they were trying to win,” Guiao also said. “That’s a team trying to mature and starting to learn how to cope with adversity. They forced us to struggle.”

Jackson struggled as he was held to three points in the first half. He finished with just 16 markers and 18 boards.

CJ Leslie appeared to have learned to pace himself in PBA play already, coming through with 29 points and 17 rebounds in 35 minutes of action.

In their 70-83 loss to Purefoods a week ago, Leslie suffered cramps early and huffed and puffed in the second half.

The scores:

First Game

RAIN OR SHINE 104 – Lee 25, Jackson 16, Cruz 10, Chan 9, Belga 9, Tang 8, Uyloan 7, Norwood 7, Araña 6, Almazan 3, Tiu 2, Quiñahan 2, Ibañes 0.

GLOBALPORT 98 – Leslie 29, Romeo 29, Pringle 16, Isip 8, Buenafe 4, Ponferrada 4, Miranda 3, Jensen 3, Semerad 1, Taha 1, Caperal 0, Pinto 0, Baclao 0, De Ocampo 0.

Quarterscores: 27-20, 53-52, 75-58, 104-98

Second Game

PUREFOODS 98 – Blakely 23, Pingris 14, Barroca 13, Melton 12, Maliksi 12, Yap 9, Devance 7, Mallari 4, Taha 2, Reavis 2, Simon 0, Alvarez 0, Gaco 0, Allado 0, Pennisi 0.

BLACKWATER 86 – Douthit 30, Faundo 14, Heruela 10, Gamalinda 9, Laure 6, Canada 5, Acuña 5, Bulawan 4, Celiz 3, Timberlake 0, Reyes 0, Nuyles 0, Erram 0, Ballesteros 0, Austria 0.

Quarterscores: 23-23, 52-44, 74-63, 98-86