Painters scrape past Bolts, extend streak

MANILA, Philippines — It’s ugly, alright, but Rain or Shine would gladly accept this win.

Engaged in a helter-skelter encounter against tough Meralco, the Elasto Painters leaned on a mix of clutch play and endgame breaks in securing an 85-83 thriller and stretching their streak to four in the PBA Governors’ Cup Group B action last night.

“Ito siguro ang isa sa mga pinakamasamang laro namin but we found ways in the endgame to carve out a win,” said coach Yeng Guiao after the escape act at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Aaron Fuller banged in a pivotal undergoal stab off a well-placed pass from Adrian Nocum to give ROS a two-point cushion with 39.5 seconds left.

The E-Painters thwarted the Bolts’ next offensive, leading to Nocum’s trip to the free throw line for the potential dagger, time down to 13.2 seconds. But Nocum flubbed both charities and Meralco later got a lifeline when the high-flying ROS guard fouled Bong Quinto with 2.5 ticks left.

To the relief of Guiao and Co., Quinto missed both shots and Fuller grabbed the defensive board, sealing ROS’ 4-2 card.

“Our free throws were very bad, we missed 14, at yung dalawang huli namin could have won us the game already. Pero naipanalo namin sa free throws din. Mabuti nag-mintis yung kay Bong Quinto,” said Guiao.

“It’s not a really nice game to watch, low-scoring and maraming messy plays. But ang importante, na-limit namin sila sa 36 percent (field goal shooting). It became a defensive game, just finding ways to win.”

Later, Magnolia rebounded at the expense of Ginebra, 88-73, to tie its Manila Clasico rival at 2-3.