MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine leaned on Jai Lewis and Sol Mercado at crunchtime as the Elasto Painters pulled off a 103-97 victory over the Barako Bulls to firm up their bid for an outright semifinal berth in the PBA Motolite Fiesta Conference at the Astrodome last night.
Lewis scored seven of the team’s last 11 points while Mercado made a key interception in the closing seconds, thwarting the Bulls’ rally and preserving the lead and the win for Rain or Shine, which posted an 8-5 card.
Lewis finished with 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including 18 in the second half, and completed a double-double job with 14 rebounds as the Elasto Painters enhanced their bid for at least a playoff for an outright semis berth after finishing last in the past two seasons.
Jay-R Reyes tossed in 16 points, Mercado wound up with 14 points while Gabe Norwood and Rob Wainwright combined for 23 for Rain or Shine.
“It was a hard-fought game,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia. “We need games like this because we’re not used to this kind of situations. Barako Bull played one hell of a game.”
But the Elasto Painters proved steadier down the stretch.
Coming off a 118-116 squeaker over Talk n Text on a last-second putback by Lewis, the Elasto Painters again found themselves challenged down the stretch by a team that has only two wins to show after 13 games.
Lewis came away with a tough shot underneath to shatter the 95-all count but failed to complete a bonus shot off a foul from Alex Crisano.
Jeff Chan tied it for the last time on two free throws with 1:10 left to play.
But Lewis took charge again, scoring on a follow-up of his own miss to make it 99-97 with 50.3 seconds left in the contest. Mercado then completed his steal off Chan to pad the lead to 101-97.
Chan flubbed a three-point attempt in the ensuring play and Mercado practically sealed the outcome with a split with 19.8 seconds remaining in the game.
Daryan Selvy, who fouled out with 1:52 left, scored 24 points while Chan, Duncil and Alex Crisano had 13 points each for the Energy Boosters.
Meanwhile, Sta. Lucia Realty tries to stop a three-game skid as it takes on Purefoods at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City today.