Lee stars as Rain or Shine ousts Ginebra
Denied the last time out, Rain or Shine made sure there would be no close finish this time.
With sensational Paul Lee unabashedly delivering the killer blows in the third quarter, the Elasto Painters turned a close battle into a romp, hacking out a methodical 102-89 victory over Brgy. Ginebra to seize the last semis ticket in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
RELATED STORIES:
>> Ginebra forces rubber match; Aces through to semis
>> San Mig Coffee, TNT ease out rivals to book semis seats
Smarting from a stinging 77-79 setback in Game 2 last Friday, the E-Painters showed up more determined, dropping a jarring 23-to-nothing onslaught in the third canto before holding their ground in the face of the Gin Kings’ last-ditch fightback.
That enabled Rain or Shine to forge a much-anticipated best-of-seven semifinal match-up against archrival San Mig Coffee starting this Wednesday also at the Big Dome. Battling in the other semis pairing are defending champion Talk ‘N Text and Alaska.
More than their late-game poise, the Painters should give credit to the heroics of the six-foot Lee, who pumped in 14 of his game-high 25 points during the team’s decisive third-quarter push while serving as the steadying force amid the Gin Kings’ backlash.
Gabe Norwood, who committed a costly passing error in Game 2, redeemed himself and ably supported Lee with 21 points while Jervy Cruz added 12 and Beau Belga had 11, enough to offset another lackluster outing from ace gunner Jeff Chan, who was held down to just five.
Center Billy Mamaril played the game of his life with 20 points, the same output of playmaker LA Tenorio, on top of 10 boards and six blocks before fouling out in the waning moments, with the Gin Kings’ hopes already shredded to pieces.
“Again we had to do it the hard way. Wala namang ibang paraan siguro,” noted Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “We took the longer route but reached our destination anyway.”
“In Game 2, we were kind of surprised with the zone they threw at us. Even when Jeff was not hitting, the rest of the guys hit their shots. The others stepped up and they know their roles. This is a young team but the toughness is right there.”
After battling toe-to-toe in the first 24 minutes and trailing 49-51 off a Chris Ellis slam, the Painters suddenly caught fire, with Lee going berserk, torching the Gin Kings with 23 unanswered points for a whopping 72-51 cushion.
The Gin Kings, however, fought back behind Tenorio and Mamaril before a Mark Caguioa spli cut their deficit at 72-79 with 7:56 left in the fourth, putting the relatively pro-Ginebra crowd up on their feet.
But Lee checked back in and immediately silenced the Gin Kings faithful with a difficult step-back triple, sparking the Painters’ blinding 11-4 surge for a whopping 90-76 spread, time down to just 3:21.
As the Gin Kings struggled offensively, the Painters managed to stay afloat at the free throw line, sinking eight straight before Norwood put the icing on the cake with a two-handed slam for an unassailable 102-87 count.
“May tiwala ako sa mga teammates ko. Motivation namin ‘yung ‘di namin nagawa nu’ng Game 2,” stated Lee, who is also looking forward to a riveting series with the Mixers, adding: “Motivation ko ‘yung ‘di ko natapos ‘yung series namin against B-Meg (now San Mig). Ito siguro ‘yung chance ko. Maganda ‘tong series na ‘to dahil Game 1 pa lang, bakbakan na talaga.”
