PBA: Lee-less Painters buck odds, go up 2-1 on Llamados

(Updated 9:34pm) The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters didn't seem to mind the loss of the "Lee-thal Weapon" aka rookie sensation Paul Lee, as they found other guns in their arsenal to take a 2-1 lead over the B-MEG Llamados, 93-84, Friday, in the best of seven PBA Governors' Cup Finals series, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
 
"We just played as hard as we can tonight without Paul. The boys knew this is our destiny," said Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao.


It was a team effort for Rain or Shine, with four locals scoring in double figures to support import Jamelle Cornley's 26-point performance.

The Elasto Painters were barely ahead at the half, 40-38, before pouring on 30 big points in the third quarter to give RoS an advantage too large for B-MEG to overcome.

B-MEG exploited their size early in the first, as the triumvirate of Marqus Blakely, Marc Pingris, and Rafi Reavis had the Llamados ruling in the paint for a 4-0 advantage. But their lead was quickly erased by three straight treys from Jamelle Cornley and Jireh Ibañes, which helped Rain or Shine climb ahead, 13-6.

Back-to-back hits by James Yap kept B-MEG close, before a Blakely drive gave the Llamados the lead, 17-15, with less than three minutes remaining. Cornley found Norwood inside for an undergoal stab to tie the game at 17-all, before Jonas Villanueva hit consecutive treys that made it 23-17, before Cornely closed out the period with a conversion, 23-19.

The Llamados opened the second period with a 7-0 run to zoom ahead, 30-19, but Rain or Shine was quick to counter with its own 8-0 spurt to reduce the lead to three, 30-27. A pair of Beau Belga drives put the Elasto Painters ahead, 36-35, before a Cornley elbow jumper with two seconds left on the shot clock gave his team a three-point lead, 38-35.

Blakely had the last say in the quarter, though, as his split at the foul line cut the deficit to two, 40-38, heading into halftime.  


The Elasto Painters continued to build on their slim halftime lead, scoring six straight to get ahead by eight, 46-38. The Llamados would cut the lead to four, 48-44, before Rain or Shine started to wax hot from the outside, hitting five straight threes, followed by a Tang bank shot to end the third period with a commanding 18-point advantage, 70-52.

Rain or Shine continued to shackle the Llamados, as they went up by as much as 21 in the fourth quarter, before an 11-0 run by B-MEG cut the lead to 10, 75-65.

Coach Guiao's charges didn't buckle though, and recovered by hitting six straight to re-establish a 16-point lead.

B-MEG's last gasp came on a Villanueva triple that cut the Rain or Shine lead to seven, 89-82, with under a minute left, but Jeff Chan nailed two charities to put his team back up by nine, 91-82, with 32.4 seconds remaining. After a Blakely conversion, Chan hit anew at the stripe to seal the win.

"We didn't ask for any help. We just played as hard as we could. This win is also for the few people who believe we could win without Paul. This is the best place to be 2-1 at this point in this series," added Guiao.


Lee was in plain clothes when he sat on the Rain or Shine bench Friday, as the team physical therapist confirmed that the star guard dislocated his shoulder in Game 2 of the Finals last Wednesday.

On the flip side, B-MEG head coach Tim Cone shrugged off criticism for benching key players James Yap and Marc Pingris late. "I can't wory about what people think. My job is to win the championship for the organization. If we could steal some rest for James and Pingris, that would be a good strategy. If we can steal some rest time and make them mentally fresh, hopefully on Sunday we can play the way we want to play,"

Game four is scheduled for Sunday, still at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. — ELR/AMD, GMA News
 
 
The scores:
 
Rain or Shine 93 - Cornely 26, Chan 18, Ibanes 12, Buenafe 11, Norwood 10, Tang 6, Arana 6, Belga 4, Cruz 0, Quinahan 0.
 
B-MEG 84 -Villanueva 18, Blakely 13, De Ocampo 13, Pingris 9, Yap 7, Barroca 6, Reavis 6, Gaco 4, Urbiztondo 4, Simon 4, Acuna 0.
 
Quarter scoring: 19-23; 40-38; 70-58; 93-84