Painters, Boosters push respective foes to brink of elimination

(Updated 10:57 p.m.) The Petron Blaze Boosters and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters drew first blood in their respective quarterfinals series to move closer of clinching the last two Final Four berths in the PBA Philippine Cup. Rain or Shine rallied from a huge 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to escape with an epic 112-105 overtime win over Barangay Ginebra, while Petron scored a 91-84 victory against Meralco in a bruising opener of their respective PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals series Friday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. In both games, it was Elasto Painters' rookie guard Paul Lee and counterpart Alex Cabagnot of the Boosters who delivered the points for their respective teams giving RoS and Petron 1-0 leads in the short quarterfinals affair. Lee teamed up with big man Beau Belga in the clutch for Rain or Shine as they scored six straight points as the Painters finally took control of the highly-physical game, 105-101. The Asian Coatings-owned franchise then held on in the end going 7-of-8 from the foul line to clinch the win. The Elasto Painters, their morale obviously high, will try to wrap things up on Wednesday when Game 2 is played also at the Big Dome. "We just came back from the jaws of hell," said a proud Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, as his Elasto Painters rallied from a 79-62 deficit early in the fourth. But with Lee catching fire, Rain or Shine came back to life in the fourth period, and even grabbed the upperhand, 99-97, following Gabe Norwood's split free throw with 7.9 seconds to go. Ginebra, the acknowledged never-say-die team of the league for many years now, managed to send the game into overtime on a Willie Wilson putback off two missed three-point attempts by Mark Caguioa and KG Canaleta. He made the game-tying basket at the buzzer, 99-99, amidst chants of Ginebra! Ginebra! Ginebra! Caguioa's shot opened the extra period, 101-99, before Belga hit a dagger three-pointer to put Rain or Shine in front for good. Lee followed it up with a completed three-point play off a Mike Cortez foul, pushing the Elasto Painters' lead to four with two minutes and 17 seconds remaining. JR Quinahan led Rain or Shine with 21 points before fouling out late in the fourth. Lee added 19 and Chan had 14. Caguioa finished with a game-high 25 points in a losing effort for the league's crowd darlings. Earlier, Cabagnot's all-around game moved Petron closer from advancing into the semis round after a 91-84 win over Meralco. Arwind Santos paced the Boosters with 19 points and 12 rebounds while Cabagnot tallied 14 markers, highlighted by two four-point plays in the final period. Cabagnot also grabbed seven rebounds and issued eight assists for third-ranked Petron. — JVP, GMA News Scores: Rain or Shine 112—Quinahan 21, Lee 19, Chan 14, Arana 12, Rodriguez 11, Belga 9, Norwood 7, Tang 7, Cruz 5, Matias 4, Ibanes 3, Buenafe 0. Ginebra 105—Caguioa 25, Intal 16, Canaleta 16, Villanueva 16, Cortez 15, Wilson W. 9, Labagala 4, Mamaril4, Maliksi 0, Wilson J. 0. Quarter scores: 20-20, 33-44, 56-69, 99-99, 112-105.