Quezon City, Philippines – The Rain or Shine Elastopainters holds a commanding lead in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Semi-Finals after escaping a late run by the San Miguel Beermen to win, 98-96.
San Miguel held on to a one point lead during the first half which led to the adjustments made by Rain or Shine in the third quarter as Jeff Chan scored 9 of his 14 points to pull his team up by three points coming into the fourth period.
Jericho Cruz then followed up as he scored 6 points early in the fourth which the Elastopainters found themselves leading by 11 points midway through the final quarter.
San Miguel came back with a fury of baskets coming into the fourth quarter as they trimmed down the lead to four points with the help of Alex Cabagnot who scored back-to-back three-point shots and it was followed up by Tyler Wilkerson’s 3-point play which helped his team to be down just two points with 14 seconds to play.
With Paul Lee’s missed free throw, San Miguel had one more chance to steal the game but Marcio Lassiter’s 3-point basket was a quarter of a second late to save the Beermen from losing the match.
Jericho Cruz led the Rain or Shine Elastopainters in scoring with 16 points but it was their import, Perre Henderson-Niles who anchored the team with his 15 points and 16 rebounds. JR Quinahan scored 9 points in the game but it was all done in the fourth quarter when it really counted the most.
“The instruction of Coach Yeng (Guiao) the day before was to run the whole game and I think we did what he wanted,” said Rain or Shine assistant coach Caloy Garcia.
“But we know that we have to work on other stuff because San Miguel is capable of coming back from the series.”
San Miguel struggled hitting their shots with the cutthroat defence of Rain or Shine that led them to shoot 36% (28/78) in the field and only 28% (9/32) in the three-point arc.
Tyler Wilkerson led the Beermen with 35 points, 18 assists and 5 assists while June Mar Fahardo had 14 points and 14 rebounds in a losing effort.
The Beermen are in a brink of elimination as the Elastopainters are now a win away to make the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals for the second consecutive year. Both teams will battle again on Thursday, April 28 at the Philsports Arena.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 98 – Cruz 16, Henderson-Niles 15, Chan 14, Ahanmisi 10, Quinahan 9, Almazan 7, Tiu 7, Lee 6, Belga 5, Ibanes 4, Norwood 3, Ponferada 2.
SAN MIGUEL 96 – Wilkerson 35, Ross 15, Fajardo 14, Cabagnot 13, Santos 8, David 5, Lassiter 3, Tubid 3, Heruela 0, Reyes 0.
Quarters: 21-28, 45-46, 69-66, 98-96
