New import gives Painters big lift

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine soothed the pain of a sorry loss to Purefoods the last time out with a 96-94 win over Alaska Milk last night in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

New import Jai Lewis gave the Elasto Painters a big lift as they redeemed themselves after bungling what had looked like a won ball game against the Giants Saturday in Batangas.

The Elasto Painters caught up with the Sta. Lucia Realtors and the Burger King Titans at third place on their identical 2-1 win-loss records while the Aces reeled deeper in the cellar with a third straight loss.

Lewis, who took over from Charles Clark, put in 26 points on 9-of-17 field-goal shooting and also grabbed 23 rebounds in a sterling debut ably backed up by Rain or Shine locals Gabe Norwood, Rob Wainwright, Mark Isip and JayR Reyes.

The Elasto Painters took two 11-point leads in the last four minutes of play and fended off the Aces’ rally at endgame even as prized rookie Sol Mercado played only three minutes in the contest, ejected early on a flagrant foul on LA Tenorio.

For the third straight time, Alaska import Galen Young failed to finish the game due to fouls.

Meanwhile, Purefoods and San Miguel Beer put their unbeaten slates on the line as they slug it out tonight for a third victory in row in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

Sta. Lucia and Barako Bull square off in the day’s other game with the former seeking a straight third victory after dropping its opening day game to Burger King while the latter eyes a second successive win after a 0-2 start in the tourney.

“San Miguel will be an acid test for us. They’re playing good basketball and their import (Gabe Freeman) is extremely explosive. We must bring the same focus, effort and energy that we displayed in our first two games to continue our winning ways,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

“Purefoods is playing really well as a team. They’ve got good balance. We have to come into the game with a defensive mindset,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

Both coaches expect a playoff type of a game which they could use as yardstick on how far they can go in the tourney.

The Giants and the Beermen are the only teams remaining unbeaten with two wins two weeks into the reinforced conference.

Tanquingcen hopes Freeman can sustain the momentum of his impressive debut Sunday where he churned out 40 The curtain-raiser is also tipped to be a close encounter between two teams that seemed to have found their rhythm and bearing after shaky starts.

“I’m worried with Barako Bull. They have no stars in their lineup but they are a talented bunch of players,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez.

Finally being able to show poise at endgame, the Energy Boosters crashed the win-column after three tries with a 92-90 win over the heavily favored Alaska Aces last Sunday.

“We have to be consistent defensively and offensively. We have to come out strong and aggressive, just like what we did against Ginebra,” said Fernandez.

He was referring to the way his team raced to the early lead against the defending champions before holding on at the end for an 80-76 win last Wednesday.