E-Painters won't fade sans Yeng, oust Bolts

MANILA, Philippines - Minus their head coach in the final half, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters took it upon themselves to win this game – and they did to close in on a first-ever PBA finals appearance at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Elasto Painters regrouped in the payoff period after slowing down in the middle quarters, clobbering the Meralco Bolts, 99-86, and fortifying their bid for the PBA Governors Finals.

Ronjay Buenafe, Paul Lee and Beau Belga combined for 5-of-7 three-point shooting in the final period as the Elasto Painters showed the Meralco Bolts the door in the season-ending tourney.

While Rain or Shine firmed up its hold of the lead with a 9-2 win-loss card, Meralco was buried deeper down the cellar at 4-7. The Bolts are now also out of contention for the league’s “4-of-5 incentive rule” in the semis.

“This team is used to winning without me. There’s nothing unusual in this game,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who was ejected from the game with 2.9 seconds left in first half for hurling invectives at referee Reymund Maurillo in protest of a non-call.

Later, Guiao insisted Maurillo “missed the obvious foul,” and said he’s joining the call for the league commissioner to protect the league from bad officiating.

“What happened a while ago happened right in front of the referee. He’s three feet away from the action. An obvious foul was not called. If that’s not a foul, I don’t know what,” said Guiao.

“In view of all the things that had happened, I think we need to tighten up on the competence of the refs in terms of officiating,” Guiao added.

Cedric Bozeman scored on a teardrop shot in the closing seconds and Barangay Ginebra beat out Petron Blaze, 87-85, in a tight match to gain solo third place with a 7-4 record later in the night.

 “That’s not supposed to be the play. But great players make great plays,” said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen of the winning sequence executed by Bozeman off a timeout with 15.9 ticks left.

 “I think that’s the best sendoff gift we could give coach Sonny Jaworski,” Tanquingcen also said.

The Elasto Painters had lost an early 13-point lead, holding on to a one-point edge when Guiao lost his temper, shouting invectives right in Maurillo’s face.

The Bolts made a run in the third quarter and surged ahead, 71-68, but couldn’t sustain the momentum in the face of the Elasto Painters’ resurgence in the final period.

Belga, Buenafe and Lee hit their clutch three-pointers to highlight Rain or Shine’s fightback in the last quarter.

NOTES: Outside of Philippine Cup best player Gary David and Fiesta Conference MVP Mark Caguioa, Arwind Santos, James Yap and Jason Castro are three others who may become official contenders for the season’s MVP award. David and Caguioa have automatically become season MVP contenders for being BPC winners in the first two conferences. Santos, Yap and Castro are in contention being in the top five – along with David and Caguioa – in the stats race through the end of the Governors Cup elimination round. David leads the stats race with an average of 34.0 points a game, followed by Santos (31.7), Yap (29.0), Castro (28.8) and Caguioa (28.0). Just outside the top five are Willie Miller (26.7), Alex Cabagnot (26.76), LA Tenorio (26.3), Paul Lee (25.8) and Sonny Thoss (25.3)…In close fight for the Rookie of the Year honors are Paul Lee and Jayvee Casio with 25.8 and 24.1 stats points an outing, respectively.

The scores:

First Game

Rain or Shine 99 – Cornley 21, Lee 16, Buenafe 10, Belga 8, Chan 8, Ibanes 8, Norwood 7, Arana 7, Quinahan 6, Cruz 5, Rodriguez 3.

Meralco 86 – West 33, Cardona 19, Ross 15, Reyes 11, Hugnatan 4, Bulawan 2, Mercado 2, Macapagal 0, Taulava 0.

Quarterscores: 26-13, 45-44, 68-71, 99-86

Second Game

Ginebra 87 – Caguioa 25, Bozeman 13, Ababou 13, Maierhofer 10, Villanueva 8, Raymundo 8, Helterbrand 4, Cortez 3, Hatfield 3, Maliksi 0, Wilson W. 0, Mamaril 0.

Petron 85 – Faison 19, Lutz 17, Washington 11, Hontiveros 11, Santos 9, Yeo 6, Cabagnot 6, Peña 4, Miranda 2, Reyes 0, Ildefonso 0.

Quarterscores: 15-26, 34-42, 58-69, 87-85