E-Painters whip Elite, firm up Top 2 finish

Game today (Lucena)

5 p.m. – Ginebra vs Globalport

Games tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

3 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs Kia

5:15 p.m. – Talk n Text vs Alaska

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine import Wayne Chism bucked early foul woes and finished with a solid all-around performance as the Elasto Painters fended off the Blackwater Elite, 102-98, to stay in contention for a Top Two finish in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Hobbled by three quick fouls, Chism still dealt Blackwater tremendous damage as he came away with 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in the second half, powering the E-Painters to the crucial win that preserved their spot among the tournament leaders with four playdates left in the single round elims.

But the race for the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals remained wide open. Complications still abound with the quotient system to break any tie at the close of the preliminary round on Wednesday.

“We don’t have total control of our destiny. We still need to win (tomorrow against Kia) and hope that Meralco or Talk n Text loses,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

“Whatever it is, we’ll try to win and will be happy with the result be it in the Top Two or out of it,” Guiao added.

The RoS local crew put in a big help as the Elasto Painters kept their Top Two aspiration with a 7-3 win-loss record going to their game against the Kia Carnival at 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Big Dome.

Paul Lee, Beau Belga and Chris Tiu delivered at least 10 points each while Raymond Almazan snared 11 rebounds and added four points as the E-Painters repeated their 82-75 drubbing of the Elite in the all-Filipino tourney.

With another overpowering performance from import Denzel Bowles, Purefooods topped Meralco, 96-85, to close out its elims stint at 8-3.

“We want the Top Two but that’s beyond our control. If we end up third, we’ll be very happy with that. Beyond that is a bonus,” said Purefoods coach Tim Cone.

Victories by Rain or Shine and Talk n Text over Kia and Alaska Milk tomorrow force a three-way on top among the E-Painters, the Texters and the Hotshots. In that scenario, RoS and TnT take the first two spots with Purefoods ending up third.

The scores:

First Game

RAIN OR SHINE 102 – Chism 30, Lee 14, Belga 11, Tiu 10, Norwood 8, Tang 6, Quiñahan 5, Cruz Jericho 4, Almazan 4, Uyloan 3, Ibañes 2, Araña 2, Cruz Jervy 2, Chan 1, Teng 0.

BLACKWATER 98 – Douthit 34, Acuna 20, Heruela 15, Gamalinda 11, Reyes 6, Faundo 4, Canada 2, Rodriguez 2, Celiz 2, Bulawan 2, Erram 0, Ballesteros 0, Laure 0.

Quarterscores: 18-20, 46-41, 78-65, 102-98

Second Game

PUREFOODS 96 – Bowles 37, Simon 15, Yap 15, Mallari 7, Barroca 7, Maliksi 5, Reavis 4, Pingris 4, Devance 2, Taha 0, Melton 0.

MERALCO 85 – Davis 31, David 27, Dillinger 10, Anthony 7, Cortez 4, Hugnatan 4, Macapagal 2, Reyes 0, Wilson 0, Ildefonso 0, Caram 0, Ferriols 0.

Quarterscores: 29-21, 50-45, 78-67, 96-85