MANILA, Philippines -- Rain or Shine stayed together despite Paul Lee going down with an injury in the second quarter and coach Yeng Guiao ejected on technical fouls in the third period, squeezing out a tough 88-83 victory over Petron Blaze to move within an inch of a return stint in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Monday night.
The Elasto Painters once again showed their big fighting heart and great mental toughness, defying the odds in taking the pivotal 3-1 lead in their side of best-of-seven semifinal series.
Jeff Chan and Beau Belga delivered clutch baskets and the rest of the fierce-fighting RoS team put up a lockdown defense to hold the Boosters to a single point in the last six minutes of the contest.
Junmar Fajardo came through with a career-best 27 points and a game-high 17 rebounds but himself was shackled down by the E-Painters at crunch time.
Thus, Rain or Shine gained a big two-game advantage over Petron in the series, giving the E-Painters three cracks at a second straight appearance in the all-Filipino finals.
“The guys just didn’t give up. They won this game on their own. I have nothing in this victory,†said Guiao.
“They lost Paul. They lost me. But they kept their fighting hearts with them. We beat them against all the odds,†Guiao added.
Lee went down with a badly sprained left ankle midway through the second period while Guiao was tossed out of the game for incurring a second technical foul with 6:15 left in the third and the E-Painters trailing, 54-60.
The Elasto Painters were hardly demoralized, though, and instead played like men on a mission to pull through with the big win.
“In the first half, 24 free throws were awarded to Petron. I thought there were lots of bad calls. Any team made up of softer materials would’ve folded up. It’s a testimony to the character of the guys they got the win,†said Guiao.
“We got closer to our desired destiny, but it’s not a guarantee. We still have to carve out another win, and it would be more difficult the next time,†Guiao added.
Petron opened the game with a 16-6 salvo and weathered the instant firepower came up by the RoS second group as the Boosters took the half at 50-48.
JR Quinahan and Lee came out firing, unloading three straight treys to highlight an attack pushing the Elasto Painters up front, 33-28, after the first period.
The Boosters, however, recovered in the second quarter, sending the E-Painters to early penalty situation and cashing in on it with 10-of-18 charities.
Petron was still down at 39-40 when Lee chased a streaking Chris Ross and flew high to challenge the Fil-Am guard’s strong drive to the basket. Lee committed a foul and worse, twisted his left ankle on his way down to the floor.
He was carried to their bench and never returned.
The rest of the E-Painters, however, stayed together with their steely resolve.