MANILA, Philippines - Ryan Araña scored 11 of his 20 points in the final quarter and Rain or Shine completed a stirring comeback from a 20-point deficit to stun Talk n Text, 95-93, in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.
Jayr Reyes and Jeff Chan also had key contributions as the Elasto Painters bucked the absence of Sol Mercado and Marcy Arellano to kick off their second round campaign on a winning note after a poor 2-7 win-loss showing in the initial round.
Mercado sat out the game with a fever while Arellano was out with shin splints.
“Talk n Text beat us in our first meeting and it started a six-game skid for us. This is a big win and hopefully this starts a roll for us in the second round,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia.
“We lacked the intensity in the first half. What we did was just to bring out intensity in the second half. We tried to deny Jimmy Alapag of possession. In denying him, they had a hard time setting up their plays,” Garcia said.
The victory enabled the Elasto Painters to draw level with the Burger King Whoppers at seventh place with 3-7 cards.
Curiously, the Texters bungled what had looked like a won ball game after a stirring triumph over the BK Whoppers where they overcame a 30-point deficit. TnT suffered its fourth loss against six wins.
They had a chance to salvage the game but Renren Ritualo misfired an open three-point shot with three seconds left in the contest.
In the nightcap, Purefoods scored its first back-to-back victories in the season, following up its 68-63 win over Sta. Lucia Saturday with an 88-79 whipping of Coca-Cola.
“We really prepared hard to break our win-loss-win-loss ride. It came at the right time when we’re celebrating a special event,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.
The Giants chalked up a sixth win in 10 games on the day Purefoods and Hormel Foods International Corp. celebrated their 10th year of alliance.
Largely behind the efforts of Araña, Chan and Reyes, the Elasto Painters rallied from a 34-54 count and edged the Texters in a topsy-turvy finish.
Chan converted on a reverse lay-up off Harvey Carey as Rain or Shine surged ahead at 94-93 with 13.8 seconds remaining.
Talk n Text set up Ritualo in the ensuing play but the dreaded gunner missed. Reyes beat Carey to the rebound and went to the line on a foul by Carey himself. Reyes split his charities for the final count.
Carey paced Talk n Text with 14 points, all coming in the fourth period.
Ali Peek and Mark Cardona tossed in 11 each right in the first half but they were held to a combined output of only four in the last 24 minutes of play.