Chan drops 18 as Rain or Shine tops Mahindra

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – No black eye stopped Jeff Chan from posting 18 points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting as the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters squeaked past the Mahindra Enforcers, 103-98, in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday, March 16 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The veteran marksman, who added 5 rebounds and two assists coming off the bench, was hit by a wayward elbow in the third quarter was seen icing his left eye during timeouts up until the post-game interview. 

He admitted his vision became blurry at some point but he still hit the go-ahead corner triple with two and a half minutes to go, 96-95, and then sank a crucial jumper with 38 seconds left for the 102-97 cushion.

“Blurred na pero kailangan e, kailangan na tumira (It was blurred but I had to, I had to shoot),” Chan said during the post-game interview.

JR Quiñahan topscored with 19 points, 14 of them in the second quarter. He also notched 5 rebounds and two assists as Rain or Shine won its third straight game for a 4-3 record.

Jericho Cruz, who likewise hit a critical putback and a jumper inside the final two minutes, came away with 18 markers – all coming in the second half.

Import Mo Charlo flirted with the triple-double with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

“It’s not really a pretty win for us. It’s a good thing that Jeff Chan stepped up and JR Quiñahan stepped up. It’s not the way we want to win but it gives us momentum. We will take it, any way we can take it,” said head coach Yeng Guiao, who emerged from the dugout for the first time after getting thrown out late in the first half.

Guiao was unhappy about his rookie Maverick Ahanmisi getting whistled for the offensive foul on Karl Dehesa with 1:33 left before the break.

Guiao was called his first technical for resentment to a call and was subsequently assessed a second one for profane language after cursing at the referee. He did not proceed to the locker room without first flashing both his middle fingers in the air.

“I was upset late in the first half because I felt there was just one bad call after another,” he later explained. “I felt that we were losing our momentum with the calls that were being made. I’m not really too happy with the way we won but it’s still a win.”

Augustus Gilchrist had 28 points and 11 rebounds for Mahindra, which lost 3 in a row for a 3-4 slate.

LA Revilla finished with 20 points and 6 assists while Niño Canaleta had 11 markers, 7 boards and 7 dimes. Chito Jaime added 8 points and 8 rebounds in a losing cause.

Scores:

Rain or Shine (103): Quinahan 19, Chan 18, Cruz 18, Charlo 16, Almazan 7, Norwood 5, Pnferada 5, Teng 4, Ahanmisi 3, Belga 2, Ibanes 2, Lee 2, Trollano 2.

Mahindra (98): Gikchrist 28, Revilla 20, Canaleta 11, Yee 10, Dehesa 9, Jaime 8, Digreorio 5, Ramos 5, Guinto 2, Pascual 0, Pinto 0, Elorde 0.

Quarter scores: 24-16, 49-48, 70-70, 103-98.

– Rappler.com