PBA: Elasto Painters halt streaking Express

(Updated 6:33 pm) The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters grounded the streaking Air21 Express en route to claiming a 94-83 win, in their PBA Commissioner's Cup elimination round game, Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The Elasto Painters now won three straight and shares the top seed in the conference with the Alaska Aces (8-3). The two teams will meet again on April 5, Friday, and the outcome could very well determine who finishes on top of the standings for postseason seedings.

The Aces outlasted Rain or Shine in the conference opener, 83-81.

On the other hand, Air21 saw its four-game winning streak snapped, to fall to 5-6, good for eighth in the rankings.

"We're looking forward to playing Alaska for the solo lead. Whoever wins that game will at least tie for second place," said RoS head coach Yeng Guiao.

After getting pounded in the third, 64-63, the Elasto Painters turned up the heat in the final period with a 19-4 run. Air21, which led by as much as seven points in the third, never trailed by less than nine in the final four minutes.

"I was a little worried when Bruno [Sundov] fell into the same pattern of fouling early and we had to sit him for a long period of time. It was really difficult to match up without an import but the locals held their own," said Guiao. "We defended [Michael] Dunigan by helping each other out, and I think that was the key. By the time Bruno came back in, the game was under control already.

Sundov led Rain or Shine with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Araña was named player of the game for his 16 points, including 14 in the second half. Jeff Chan added 13 points, with 11 coming in the second half as well, as the wingmen combined for 11-of-20 attempts from the field.

The 7'2" Sundov picked up his fifth foul with four minutes remaining in the third quarter while Air21 led, 57-53, but Jeff Chan and Ryan Arana picked up the slack on offense, and the duo led the Elasto Painters in turning things around in the fourth quarter.

Paul Lee was the Elasto Painters' main man early in the first quarter, as the point guard buried a triple en route to scoring seven of their first 11 points. Rain or Shine had difficulty keeping Michael Dunigan out of the paint, while the Express also capitalized on turnover points to take a 14-11 lead.

Air21 was held to only two more field goals in the last five minutes as Rain or Shine played the passing lanes. On the other end, Bruno Sundov began to warm up as he scored five in a 7-2 stretch to force an 18-18 tie after the first period.

The Air21 reserves held their own in the second quarter, as they trailed by one, 25-24, off a Chris Tiu jumper, but Ogie Menor drained a triple to ignite the Express to a 9-2 run. Sundov replied with a triple to ease the bleeding, 33-30.

With around five minutes to play, Dunigan began to make his presence felt on the block against Sundov, 36-32. The Croatian was unhappy with the contact Dunigan was getting away with and channeled it on the offensive end. Sundov scored eight of his side's next 10 points, including two treys, and Rain or Shine finished the period on a 13-2 run, 45-38.

Sundov had 11 points in the quarter on 4-of-5 shooting and made all three tries from downtown.

By halftime, Rain or Shine made 17-of-37 field goals (45.9 percent) to offset a 6-of-17 mark from the free throw line (35.3 percent). Air21 shot 16-of-41 from the floor (39 percent) and made only 4-of-11 charities (36.4 percent), including Dunigan's 3-of-9 clip.


The momentum swung to the Express in the third quarter as the team shored up on defense and got the breaks they needed: baskets from Dunigan down low, KG Canaleta charities off a trey attempt, and Mike Cortez's first three-pointer to cap a 12-4 run.

Rain or Shine countered with back-to-back lay-ups from JR Quiñahan and Jireh Ibañes to lead briefly, 53-52, but Dunigan attacked relentlessly on the other end, such that Sundov elbowed him in frustration and picked up his fifth personal foul at around the four minute mark. The Express took their largest lead thus far, 60-53, on a Dunigan put-back.

However, the Express couldn't escape their familiar refrain, and evaporated again as the quarter came to a close. The Elasto Painters went on a 10-4 run behind Jeff Chan's six points, including the final breakaway basket to make it a 64-63 game after three quarters.

Air21 made 11-of-13 free throw attempts in the third quarter (84.6 percent), versus Rain or Shine's 2-of-5 mark  (40 percent).

Chan extended his hot streak in the fourth quarter, draining a triple for seven points in an 11-4 run. He had to be taken out just four minutes in as his shoulder cramped up, but his teammates picked up the slack. A Ryan Araña lay-up gave Rain or Shine eight unanswered points for an 82-68 lead.

The Express, who had been chucking shots from outside the arc, caught a break when Beau Belga was called for a flagrant one foul for contact against Dunigan with four an a half minutes left, 82-72. They then finally got some triples to fall from Wynne Arboleda and Canaleta, but they couldn't keep Rain or Shine out of the paint. Fearless drives by Araña handed the Elasto Painters a 92-78 lead with two minutes to play, a lead that Air21 would not threaten down the stretch.

The Elasto Painters made 36-of-83 field goals (43.4 percent) in contrast to the Express' 30-of-76 mark (39.5 percent). Three-point shooting made the difference, as Rain or Shine converted 7-of-19 three-pointers (36.8 percent) against Air21's 6-of-26 (23.1 percent).

Rain or Shine also led in fast break points, 14-8.

Michael Dunigan led all scorers with 34 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. KG Canaleta was the only local player in double figures with 12 points and four rebounds.  - RAF, GMA News