Painters unleash Lee-thal weapon to edge Mixers

MANILA, Philippines – Paul Lee poured 11 of his career-high 26 points in the decisive fourth quarter as Rain or Shine survived San Mig Coffee, 86-83 in the PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup on Friday, December 6 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 2012 PBA Rookie of the Year played his best game as a professional, drilling two bail-out triples and a fastbreak layup to give the Elasto Painters an 83-76 cushion with 1:39 left.

But the Mixers clawed back with a Mark Barroca three and a Mark Pingris lay-in to pull within 81-83 in the final 46.2 seconds.

Gabe Norwood burned as much time possible before missing an elbow jumper, but Rain or Shine collared the offensive board. Jeff Chan sank two more free throws to make it 85-81.

Pingris answered with another basket underneath to keep San Mig Coffee knocking. Norwood then muffed charities to leave the door open for the Mixers in the final 9.7 seconds.

Barroca had an open lane but back-ironed his floater, leading to a Paul Lee rebound with just 3 ticks left. Lee split his free throws and with no more timeouts remaining, Joe Devance went the length of the court to throw a hurried-shot that went astray.

Both teams fought hard in a nip-and-tuck affair which saw the Elasto Painters leading for most of the way. Rafi Reavis gave the Mixers their first taste of the lead but it was Rain or Shine who dictated the tempo en route to their fourth win in five outings.

The Mixers’ woes continued even with the return of Joe Devance from a two-week absence, dropping to a second-worst 1-4 record.

The scores:

Rain or Shine (86) – Lee 26, Chan 11, Arana 7, Tang 6, Teng 6, Norwood 6, Cruz 5, Rodriguez 5, Quinahan 4, Belga 2, Almazan 2, Tiu 2, Nuyles 2, Ibanes 2.

San Mig Super Coffee (83) – Barroca 23, Simon 18, Pingris 12, Devance 11, Sangalang 8, Reavis 7, Mallari 4, Acuna 0, Gaco 0, Cawaling 0.

Quarters: 25-15, 38-34, 62-59, 86-83

– with reports from Levi Verora/Rappler.com