Painters gain lead, momentum

MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine followed up a monstrous job in Game Two with an even bigger effort last night, bucking the absence of its main matchup for Junmar Fajardo in a gripping 111-106 win that pushed the E-Painters ahead, 2-1, in their Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Elasto Painters, losing Raymond Almazan to a sprained ankle in practice Friday, hung on the best they could, then beat out the Beermen in a tight finish for a second straight win after losing the series opener.

Towards the end of Game Three, the E-Painters also lost another key player in Jericho Cruz who could be out for the rest of the series on an injured left knee.

“It’s a very hard win for us, and we had to pay a big cost to win this game,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

“We’ve already lost Almazan. And from the look of things, we’re also losing Jericho. We’re paying a big cost. But that’s how really it is. We’re willing to pay the cost and take the challenge,” Guiao added.

“We’re making the adjustment. We’d done that as we lost Paul Lee earlier. The team is designed for others to step up. We’ll just look at the positive. Maybe, this is an opportunity for our other guys,” Guiao further said.

Before getting injured, Cruz made a key contribution in beating out Fajardo for a loose ball after a Marcio Lassiter miss in the closing seconds.

But a bump from Lassiter threw Cruz off balance, twisting his left knee badly upon landing on the floor.

With Cruz carried out on a stretcher, Chris Tiu took the charities that sealed their grind-out win, putting to naught Fajardo’s giant 40-point and 20-rebound performance.

Down by six, 101-107, with 1:56 left to play, the Beermen tried to steal the game but Lassiter muffed a potential game-winning floater with six seconds left.

It was a game marked by wild momentum swings with the Beermen charging from an eight-point halftime deficit to surge ahead, 86-78, going into the final canto.

But the E-Painters waged their own fightback and regained control at 104-98 on clutch baskets by Cruz and Beau Belga.

“We outlasted them in this game. All throughout the fourth, we’re just keeping our heads above water and hung on. I think we’re able to wear them down. That’s what happened,” said Guiao.

ROS again wore down the Beermen with evenly distributed minutes to the E-Painters.

Paul Lee top scored with 18 points with Belga, Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, Tiu, Jewel Ponferada and Maverick Ahanmisi also producing double-digit outputs.

Norwood came through with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal while having to play at No. 4 spot in the crunch in the absence of Almazan.

The Gilas Pilipinas mainstay highlighted his performance with a huge block on Fajardo and a clutch three-point play on a reverse shot also off Fajardo, making it 107-101  within the last two minutes.

Also proving to be the big key was ROS’ 13 treys against SMB’s nine.

Earlier, the E-Painters dealt the Beermen much beating on fastbreak plays, 22-4, to take a 58-50 lead at the turn.

As they also shot better on halfcourt set, the E-Painters took control most of the opening half.

Rain or Shine made a run from 20-25 down, racing ahead, 27-26 at the end of the first quarter and enjoying their biggest lead of nine, 45-36, before the halftime break.