E-Painters shatter Clickers

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine lost Paul Lee to shin injury early in the game but the Elasto Painters still went on to drub the Shopinas.com Clickers, 88-81, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The win snapped the Elasto Painters’ four-game slump while handing the Clickers a loss that had the first-year Lina Group franchise tying a league record in futility.

Shopinas tumbled to its 13th loss in as many games, matching the all-time worst start in a conference recorded by Great Taste in the 1982 Reinforced.

A few seconds before wrapping up the win, the Elasto Painters savored the good news of Lee spared of a major injury.

The prized rookie got hurt in a collision with Ogie Menor just 10 minutes into the game and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for X-ray and other medical tests.

The Elasto Painters, however, bucked Lee’s ouster, notching their eighth win against five losses.

“It’s just nice to break out of a losing streak. I’m not that really happy with our effort. We could have played a lot better but a win is a win,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

“A good news to hear is that Paul Lee is not seriously injured,” Guiao also said before hitting Menor.

“It’s a pity that guys like Menor are able to wreak havoc on players just trying to play a good game. He’s really a danger to this league,” said Guiao of the rugged Shopinas player.

Lee, a vital cog for Rain or Shine with averages of 14.9 points, 5.1 assists and 4.6 rebounds, had just checked in when he suffered the injury.

Driven by Lee’s fall, the Elasto Painters went on a decisive turnaround in the second quarter, wiping out a 19-27 deficit and erecting a 41-32 lead at the half.

Jeff Chan, Ryan Arana and JR Quinahan paced the Elasto Painters with double-digit numbers curiously each one coming off the bench.

Arana made 11 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as the 6-foot-2 forward led RoS’s brave stand in the face of Shopinas’ repeated rallies in the highly physical match marred by three technical fouls and the ejection of Homer Se and Quinahan.

Jojo Duncil paced the losing team with a career-best 23 points while RJ Jazul and James Sena added 17 and 11, respectively.