Hot-shooting Rain or Shine arranges semis date with Powerade

(Updated 10:07 p.m.)  Inspired by Powerade's mastery over top-ranked B-MEG, Rain or Shine coasted to a 106-91 win against Barangay Ginebra Wednesday night as the Elasto Painters arranged a PBA Philippine Cup semifinal duel with the upset-conscious Tigers. The Painters dropped 41 points on the Gin Kings in the opening period, burning the hoops for an 81 percent shooting clip to post a 41-24 edge after the first 12 minutes of play. That lead ballooned to 55-31, before the Painters quashed every major rally made by the Kings, who played erratic and without their usual offensive spunk. Rain or Shine swept the best-of-three series, 2-0, including a 112-105 Game One overtime win where the Painters amazingly climbed out of a 17-point hole in the final quarter. The Painters will now face surprise semifinalist Powerade Tigers in a best-of-seven affair starting January 4. "It was just a big challenge facing Ginebra in the quarterfinals. But they had a stroke of bad luck and they’ve been hounded with injuries," said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao later. It was Rain or Shine's second semis stint in franchise history. The last time they entered the Final Four was during the 2008-09 Fiesta Conference when the team was led by import Jai Lewis. "I'm looking at it really as a good sign for a young team," said Guiao, whose also back in the semis for the first time since the 2007-08 Fiesta Conference. "That's something we really need to bring against Powerade. We really need to prepare against Powerade. They (Tigers) really deserve to be in the semis. They were the underdogs and they beat the odds. We will be very careful with our chances with Powerade. They are just as strong as any other team." Jeff Chan paced the Painters with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Ronjay Buenafe and Ronnie Matias came off the bench to contribute and 13 and 12 markers each. The Painters held a 58-37 lead at the turn on a torrid 68 percent field goal shooting, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Kings cut the deficit to 13, 63-50, in the third period. Mike Cortez scored 17 points to lead Barangay Ginebra, which was forced to field in hurting players JayJay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid in the hopes of turning the Kings' fortunes around. — JVP, GMA News