Rain or Shine manages import woes, squeaks past Air21

Games Friday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5:15 p.m. – Petron Blaze vs Air21

7:30 p.m. – Alaska vs Talk n Text

MANILA, Philippines – Bruno Sundov played limited minutes due to fouls but Rain or Shine fought tough in a tight situation, nipping Air21, 99-97, to boost its stock in the upper half of the chart in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Ryan Arana sank a big trey, JR Quinahan knocked in an equally important charity and the Elasto Painters pulled a key stop in the dying seconds to get away with their third win in four starts in the mid-season tourney.

“We got really lucky in this game. Our import was in foul trouble most of the second half, played little minutes and fouled out. We’re really having a problem matching up with their import especially at low post, and at the same time their shooters hit their shots,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

“It was a complicated situation for us. We’re fortunate they committed a turnover, making a bad pass in the last play,” Guiao added. “Had it gone to overtime, it’s difficult for us to win this game.”

Holding a shaky 99-97 lead, the Elasto Painters needed defensive gems to complete the win and send the Express reeling with a third loss against a lone win.

The E-Painters choked Michael Dunigan in Air21’s final play, forcing Mike Cortez to an errant in-bounds.

Cortez’ overhead throw-in from the baseline went long, and Jireh Ibanes beat everybody for the loose ball as time expired.

Earlier, Wynne Arboleda missed a wide-open three-point attempt from the right quartercourt.

Limited to playing only 27 minutes, Sundov finished the night with just 17 points and five rebounds.

The 7-foot-3 import picked up a fourth foul early in the second half, his fifth with six minutes to go and his sixth with 1:15 left to play.

“We just kept fighting back even with our import not helping us that match. It’s a big lesson for our import. He has to play smarter,” said Guiao.

“You really can’t take any team in this league for granted. Air21 is strong and dangerous. We almost paid for our mistakes, especially our import getting into foul trouble,” Guiao added.

To make matters worse for RoS, Jervy Cruz twisted his right ankle and was helped to their bench in the second quarter.

Paul Lee, Arana, Quinahan, Gabe Norwood, Larry Rodriguez and Ronnie Matias put in their shares helping the E-Painters through in the tight game marked by 12 deadlocks and 11 lead changes.

Lee and Arana led the RoS local scorers, making 15 and 11 points, respectively. They combined for five triples.

Dunigan led the losing team with 22 markers, 10 boards and five assists in 42 minutes of action.