E-Painters rally past Aces, share 2nd spot

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine stayed right behind Alaska Milk through the first 30 minutes before stemming the tide on a decisive closing run in the third period and going on to pull off a 111-105 win to move up to joint second place in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Elasto Painters ended the third quarter with a 14-0 run and made another big salvo towards the end to steal the game and force a logjam at second place with the Aces at 7-2.

“It’s a hard struggle. We just tried to keep our composure even under pressure. We’re behind for the most part of the game, and we just stuck together, waiting for time where we can get the game close enough to put some pressure on them too,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

“They were executing with precision. They shot very well in the first half with 9-of-12 three-pointers. I figured this team is good but not that good not to miss in the second half,” Guiao added.

The Elasto Painters made the stops at endgame, holding the Aces to a single field goal conversion in a stretch of over four minutes to seize control at 106-100.

Beau Belga, Jewel Ponferrada, Gabe Norwood and Jericho Cruz teamed up to give the E-Painters the strong finish that boosted their quest for an outright Final Four entry.

“We look forward to playing NLEX and Meralco in our last two games, and hope to get the outright semis. That’s the goal. We can’t lose to any of those team as our chances are going be a lot less than what they are right now,” said Guiao.

In the first game, Carlo Lastimosa put in a huge show for the second time, leading to a career-high output and powering Blackwater to a wire-to-wire 116-92 win over Barako Bull as the Elite stayed in contention for a playoff berth.

Lastimosa shifted to attack mode early on to finish with a 14 of 20 field goal conversion, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc in a superb 38-point game that carried his team to the key win that forced a tie between Blackwater and Mahindra at 10th at 2-7.

The three-year pro, who played his first two years with Barako, has been on a great ride this season, averaging 12.3 points with a previous career-best performance (with 31 points) against Globalport two weeks ago.

 Rookie Arthur dela Cruz contributed 21 points while Bam Gamalinda chipped in 15 markers on top of 10 rebounds as Blackwater derailed Barako Bull’s Top Six aspiration in dealing the Energy a fifth loss against four wins.

 It was Blackwater’s first win over Barako Bull after losing three previous games by a whopping average margin of 17.3 points.

 Lastimosa and his teammates pulled off a big game together, dominating the Energy with an all-time franchise-best output in a game.

 “We’re a bit scared going to this game because of the sorry loss to Barangay Ginebra the last time out. Had we won that, our morale and confidence would have gone up. But since we lost, I’m afraid our spirit would be low,” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.

“We pushed the guys hard in practices, emphasizing the importance of our last three games. Luckily, the guys responded very well,” Isaac added.

  The Elite came out strong and played with a great resolve all throughout, rewarding themselves with their biggest win in the pro league. Their previous biggest winning margin was only 12 in an 84-72 drubbing of Meralco in the last Commissioner’s Cup.

“We shut down the likes of JC Intal. Willy Wilson had his baskets but he didn’t have much impact in this game. It also helped us that RR (Garcia) is not fit to play today,” said Isaac.

Lastimosa could have easily surpassed Gary David’s season-best game of 40 points if not rested by his coach with over a minute left to play.

“Carlo is a player who’s just okay in practice then doubles up the effort during the game,” said Isaac of their prized catch.

 Carlo, nephew of PBA all-time great Jojo Lastimosa, punctuated his game with 4-of-6 three-pointers and a total of 17 points in the fourth quarter.

 He rattled in three straight treys before heading to their bench with Blackwater enjoying a 116-89 spread.

 Wilson led the losing team with 23 points and seven rebounds against five turnovers.

 Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer and TNT meet in a battle of champions today also at the Big Dome, with both pushing their drive for an outright semifinal entry.

 The Beermen, the reigning Philippine Cup and Governors Cup champs, and the Tropang Texters, the Commissioner’s Cup titleholders, clash at 5:15 p.m., each one looking to jack up their stock atop the leaderboard.