PBA: Rain or Shine storms back to notch 2-0 lead on Petron

(Updated 10:32pm) The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters used a huge fourth quarter rally to come back from as much as 16 points down and trip the Petron Blaze Boosters, 103-94. The win gave them a 2-0 lead in ther PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series, Wednesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Jeff Chan led his team with 20 points. while 2013 third overall pick Raymond Almazan and Paul Lee finished with 15 points and five rebounds apiece. Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood each tallied 11 points and combined for 10 rebounds.

Norwood and Lee also had six and five assists, respectively.

[Game one result: Balanced attack helps Rain or Shine draw first blood against Petron Blaze]

After staring down a 16-point lead in the second quarter, and a 13-point deficit in the third after trailing by just three at the half, the Elasto Painters came up with momentum-swinging plays in the final canto. They more than doubled Petron's output in the fourth, 36-16.

"For a while I thought it was a lost game but the guys did not give up. It's a testament to their desire to win, their determination to win, and their mental toughness," said coach Yeng Guiao. "You need that to win in a situation against Petron where they were in control for most of the game."

It was a bruising affair between both teams resulting in several technical fouls and a handful of confrontations. 2012 top pick June Mar Fajardo seemed particularly affected and faltered at times when his team needed him to step up.

Guiao again chalks this up to his team's resilience and ability to focus on the game. "They were trying to play physical [too]," said Guiao. "June Mar really is the focal point of their offense. We had to play physical ourselves so he's gonna get the brunt of our game.

"As I said, you have to be mentally into it to play that game. It's more natural for us than it is for them," he said.

Game three will be played on Saturday at the MOA Arena.

Fajardo set the tone for Petron with aggressive baskets, but the Boosters trailed early while Rain or Shine bombed away from the perimeter, 11-10. However, the Elasto Painters began to wear down against the Boosters' wings, who used their dribble penetration to rip the game open. Even their reserves got in the action as Paolo Hubalde nailed two straight triples in the last minute, establishing a 32-18 lead.

In the second quarter, Paul Lee and Alex Nuyles revived their team's offense. Petron's bench though kept them at bay, 40-28, as Chris Ross finished in transition off a Rain or Shine turnover.

The Boosters lost their focus defensively midway through the frame, aggravated by a phantom foul called on Doug Kramer going for a defensive rebound. Petron conceded a 12-4 run, featuring five from Raymond Almazan, 44-40. Reigning MVP Arwind Santos took over down the last two minutes though and steered his team to a 49-46 halftime lead.


Alex Cabagnot went on a tear to start the third, scoring 12 of his team's first 14 points, including two treys, to widen the gap, 63-50. Though Ryan Arana and Jervy Cruz tried to rally the Elasto Painters, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz put out the fires, never letting Rain or Shine within less than nine points. After three quarters, Petron maintained a 78-67 lead.

Rain or Shine came back swinging in the fourth with big baskets. While Petron eked out a living at the charity stripe, Raymond Almazan and Belga banged in and-one's, plus Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood sank triples. Almazan later rifled in a long ball to slice the lead to one, before Belga barged inside to give them their first lead since the opening period, 92-91.

At 2:41, Fajardo's transition layup gave Petron their first field goal in nearly seven minutes, still trailing 95-93. Chan drew a foul then split to widen the lead to three. The Boosters were in a hurry to tie the game, but three-pointers by Cabagnot and Lutz did not connect. Lee then drew contact and made two from the stripe, 98-93.

A Fajardo split made it a one-possession game with a minute to play, but despite their hounding defense the Boosters couldn't follow through on the other end. After costly misses, Almazan took advantage of Lutz on the break with a layup, 100-94, with 25 seconds left.

The Boosters tried to make up the deficit with a Santos attempt from deep, but he couldn't get the shot to go. Petron was forced to foul Belga, who obliged and hit a free throw to make it a three-possession game, 101-94, with 21 seconds remaining. Santos missed anew from deep, and Almazan ran down the court for a thundering dunk to punctuate the affair.

Rain or Shine shot 34-of-80 (42.5 percent) from the floor, while Petron went 33-of-82 (40.2 percent).

Guiao also complained about the officiating, claiming that Petron got away with a lot of contact that should've been called fouls. The free throw numbers favor his team however, with the Elasto Painters making 25-of-34 (73.5 percent) against the Boosters' 20-of-28 (71.4 percent).

June Mar Fajardo logged 20 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, but committed a game-high six turnovers. Alex Cabagnot had 17 points and three steals. Marcio Lassiter aded 14 points and six rebounds, while Arwind Santos had 12 points and eight rebounds. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Rain or Shine 103 - Chan 20, Almazan 15, Lee 15, Belga 11, Norwood 11, Arana 8, Tang 5, Quinahan 4, Cruz 4, Nuyles 4, Rodriguez 4, Teng 2, Tiu 0, Ibanes 0

Petron Blaze 94 - Fajardo 20, Cabagnot 17, Lassiter 14, Santos 12, Lutz 7, Kramer 6, Hubalde 6, Ross 6, Tubid 4, Taha 2

Quarter scoring: 18-32, 46-49, 67-78, 103-94