Lee is lethal as Rain or Shine ousts San Miguel

Jane Bracher

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Lee is lethal as Rain or Shine ousts San Miguel
Rain or Shine reaches the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup finals with the win

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Paul Lee topscored with 18 points with 5 assists as the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters pummeled top seed San Miguel Beermen in Game 4, 124-99, to reach the finals of the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday, May 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Lee, who had been injured for most of the season, was looking a lot like his old self as he went 6-of-9 from the field including two triples as the Painters pulled away in the second quarter and finished the job in the second half.

It’s the 5th straight seasons that Rain or Shine is in the finals of at least one conference, according to PBA statistician Fidel Mangonon III.

“It’s a great feeling to be back in the finals again, especially beating a great team like San Miguel,” said head coach Yeng Guiao, who finally got over the Beermen hump in their third straight semifinals meeting.

“We did not expect it to be this easy especially with AZ (Reid) coming in. We knew we had a hard time beating this team with AZ last year and I was kind of worried what kind of shape AZ would be in today.

“I knew he did not have his legs, I knew he was not a hundred percent in shape so this was really the best time for us. This is a big break for us.”

Six Painters finished in double figures for Rain or Shine with Lee leading the way. Starving for a championship to follow up to their 2012 Governors’ Cup success, the Painters seem to be peaking at the right time.

“A good thing for us is Paul Lee is getting his game back,” Guiao said. “He’s combining well with our other guards. We’re looking for that old chemistry of ours, this time with some new ingredients like Jericho (Cruz) and Maverick (Ahanmisi).”

Import Pierre Henderson-Niles contributed 15 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, 4 steals and a block.

Gabe Norwood made 3 of his 5 shots from beyond the arc for 15 points as well along with 3 rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Chris Tiu and Jericho Cruz had 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Raymond Almazan added 10 markers and 7 boards.

Rain or Shine led by as much as 26 as they burned San Miguel at its own game, shooting the lights out from downtown in key stretches in the fourth.

AZ Reid, who replaced Tyler Wilkerson following a conflict with the team last week, came up with 25 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Marcio Lassiter tallied 20 points on 5-of-8 triples before fouling out with 10:47 left to play. Alex Cabagnot finished with 18 points and 8 assists, while June Mar Fajardo was quiet with 12 points as the Beermen failed to complete a comeback attempt in the third.

Scores

Rain or Shine (124): Lee 18, Henderson-Niles 15, Norwood 15, Tiu 13, Cruz 12, Almazan 10, Ahanmisi 9, Quinahan 8, Chan 6, Ponferada 5, Belga 4, Ibanes 3, Nimes 2, Teng 2, Trollano 2.

San Miguel (99): Reid 25, Lassiter 20, Cabagnot 18, Fajardo 12, Espinas 6, Ross 6, Santos 6, David 5, De Ocampo 1, Arana 0, Heruela 0, Tubid 0.

Quarter scores: 23-22, 61-42, 92-70, 124-99.

– Rappler.com

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