Lee-thal weapon strikes for Rain or Shine as E-Painters take Game 1
It took a cluster of decisive plays from Paul Lee for Rain or Shine to pull this one off against weary San Mig Super Coffee Mixers.
Birthday boy Lee banked in a shot from close range with 1.6 seconds left to lift the Elasto Painters to a pulsating 83-80 win over the Super Coffee Mixers in Game 1 of the PLDT-myDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Lee pretended to set a screen for Jeff Chan, ran towards the basket and received an inbounds pass from Gabe Norwood. Without putting the ball on the floor, last year's top rookie turned and hit the shot to give Rain or Shine an 82-80 lead, time down to 0.9 of a second.
San Mig Coffee was slapped a technical foul for calling a timeout it didn't have, and Lee hit the technical free throw for the final count. The Mixers, just two days removed from their emotional 110-87 semifinal win over Barangay Ginebra, couldn't get a shot off in time.
Center Beau Belga and slotman Jervy Cruz each tallied 15 points but it was still the big plays of Lee in the crunch that enabled the Painters to sustain their mastery over the Mixers.
The win also extended the Painters' streak against the Mixers to six dating back to their semis battle in the previous edition of the All-Filipino conference.
It was, indeed, a bitter pill to swallow for San Mig Super Coffee, which even enjoyed an 80-78 lead off James Yap's back-to-back jumpers going to the last 34.7 seconds.
But Cruz made a huge putback that tied the count at 80-apiece then Mixers guard Mark Barroca fired an airball in the other end, setting the stage for Lee's heroics.
The Main Man: Paul Lee failed to give Rain or Shine ample lift when they defeated San Mig Super Coffee (then known as the B-Meg Llamados) in the 2012 Governors Cup for their first pro league crown due to a shoulder injury, but he played like a man on a mission in this one.
The former University of the East star produced a killer shot in the last 1.6 seconds that proved enough for RoS to extend its mastery over San Mig Coffee.
Honorable Mention: Before Lee delivered the killer blows, there was Jervy Cruz and Jeff Chan who kept the Painters in the thick of things.
Chan sparked an 8-0 run with a pair of triples that helped RoS climb back from a 70-76 and put them ahead by two with 2:39 left.
After James Yap made two consecutive jumpers, Cruz knotted the game anew at 80-apiece with a putback going to the last 22.5 seconds.
Game Turning Point: In what could go down as one of the most brilliant plays in Finals history, RoS coach Yeng Guiao got exactly what he wanted and clearly left San Mig Super Coffee counterpart Tim Cone stunned.
With Gabe Norwood inbounding the leather, Paul Lee faked off San Mig defender Alex Mallari by providing a quick screen on teammate Jeff Chan and cut straight in an open lane before soaring high to catch the lob and turn it into the go-ahead basket with 0.9 seconds left.
Lee then made the Mixers pay a stiff price for calling an extra timeout by making a freebie off a technical foul and capped his heroics with a timely disruption on PJ Simon's pass to Yancy De Ocampo that spoiled San Mig's last chance.
He Said It:
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao: “It’s just the first game but we got lucky in the end. We set up the play for Jeff (Chan) but Paul (Lee) was the one who got open. And it was a good recognition by Gabe (Norwood) throwing the ball out to Paul.”
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE (83) - Belga 15, Cruz 15, Chan 8, Norwood 8, Rodriguez 7, Arana 6, Lee 6, Tang 5, Teng 5, Almazan 4, Quinahan 2, Nuyles 2, Tiu 0, Ibanes 0.
SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE (80) - Devance 17, Pingris 13, Simon 13, Yap 12, Barroca 9, Melton 6, Mallari 4, Reavis 4, Sangalang 2, De Ocampo 0.
Quarterscores: 20-15, 37-37, 60-59, 83-80.
