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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters barely squeaked past the San Miguel Beermen, 98-96, in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals on Tuesday, April 26, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine dodged a deadly bullet from Marcio Lassiter, who buried the potential game-winning 3-pointer after a mad scramble in the dying seconds but ran out of time.
The Painters, playing sans head coach Yeng Guiao who attended to a campaign event in Pampanga, rose to 2-0 in the best-of-5 series and moved a win away from a finals ticket.
“I’m overwhelmed because of the way the players played tonight. The instructions coach Yeng gave us the day before is to run the whole game,” said assistant coach Caloy Garcia, who manned the sidelines in lieu of Guiao.
“We’re lucky Marcio’s shot was late already. We just have to work on our endgame.”
Jericho Cruz led Rain or Shine’s balanced scoring with 16 points while import Pierre Henderson-Niles contributed 15 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists on top of his “energy” and “his defensive presence.”
Jeff Chan finished with 14 points while Maverick poured 6 points in the final quarter for his total of 10 as the Painters warded off the Beermen after blowing a 13-point fourth quarter lead.
Tyler Wilkerson had 35 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 assists in another long night where he rested for just 66 seconds.
Chris Ross had 15 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals as June Mar Fajardo posted 14 points and 14 rebounds. Alex Cabagnot wound up with 13 markers including back-to-back triples inside the final minute that pulled San Miguel to within 95-93.
A Wilkerson 3-point play cut the deficit to a point and Paul Lee kept the door open with a split from the free throw line before Lassiter’s bank shot failed to count.
Game 3 of this series is on Thursday, April 28 at the PhilSports Arena, the site where San Miguel began its historic comeback from a 0-3 finals series deficit in the previous Philippine Cup.
Recognizing the possibility of a repeat, Rain or Shine will not relax.
“We still have to work on other stuff becayse we know that San Miguel is capable of coming back in a series,” Garcia said. “We can’t be complacent.”
Scores:
Rain or Shine (98): Cruz 16, Henderson-Niles 15, Chan 14, Ahanmisi 10, Quinahan 9, Almazan 7, Tiu 7, Lee 6, Belga 5, Ibanes 4, Norwood 3, Ponferada 2.
San Miguel (96): Wilkerson 35, Ross 15, Fajardo 14, Cabagnot 13, Santos 8, David 5, Lassiter 3, Tubid 3, Heruela 0, Reyes 0.
Quarter scores: 21-28, 45-46, 69-66, 98-96.
– Rappler.com
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