PBA: Belga helps Rain or Shine shrug off controversial call, improve to 2-0

(Updated 8:00pm) Big Beau Belga was exactly that, big, in the end game.

Belga, who was re-signed by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the offseason, gave them their money's worth in this game, as his clutch play led to a 94-89 win over the Meralco Bolts, Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome, in the 2013-14 PBA Philippine Cup.

Rain or Shine improved to 2-0, after beating the Alaska Aces 87-74 last Sunday. Meralco on the other hand dropped to 0-2, as they lost to sister team Talk 'N Text, also on Sunday, 89-80.

The Bolts were on a 17-9 run in the final canto, but with their offense starting to fall apart, a pair of defensive stops by Rain or Shine, coupled with a huge and-one play by Paul Lee put the Elasto Painters ahead, 90-89, with 35 seconds left.

What followed after a Bolts' timeout was a confusing sequence. A bad shot by Gary David was negated as Jared Dillinger stole the rebound. However, Mike Cortez lost the ball on a layup try, and Jervy Cruz was swarmed by three Meralco players after securing the loose ball. Strangely though, the referee whistled for a jump ball, despite no Meralco player touching the ball for three seconds.

Nevertheless, Cruz was able to tap the ball to Belga, who was quickly fouled. He canned both charities, pushing the Elasto Painters lead to three, 92-89. The Bolts sued for time anew, but with David well-covered, Jared Dillinger's rushed shot was offline. Belga grabbed the rebound, and nailed the game-securing charities.

The 6'6" Belga finished with 20 points and seven rebounds to lead his squad. Heading into the final minute, he was just 2-of-5 from the stripe, but closed on a perfect 4-of-4 clip.

Ryan Arana added 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Larry Rodriguez contributed 13 markers and seven boards. Paul Lee and Jeff Chan added a combined 23 points while making 5-of-10 treys.

Meralco started out hot from the field after the opening tip, as Mike Cortez and Gary David found baskets early in the clock and scored 12 of their team's first 14 points. Meanwhile, Larry Rodriguez and Beau Belga pounced on the Bolts' suspect interior defense, and took a 15-14 edge on an Alex Nuyles bucket.

However, that would be the Elasto Painters' only taste of the lead in the quarter. Moments later, Reynel Hugnatan buried a triple from the right corner, and went on to score five in a 9-4 run in the last five minutes of the frame. After the first period, Meralco established a 23-18 lead.

The pace slowed in the second quarter, and Rain or Shine slowly chipped away at their deficit. Rain or Shine foiled Meralco in the paint while getting contributions from Jervy Cruz and Paul Lee, 31-30.

At 4:30, Belga earned a flagrant foul 1 for shoving Jared Dillinger on a drive. Dillinger split his charities, then hit a midrange fadeaway on the bonus possession. The sequence seemed to energize the Bolts, who wrapped up the quarter with an 11-5 run, the last six via a barrage of buckets by David. But Meralco fumbled their last possession of the half with an offensive three-second violation, which Jireh Ibanes turned into a wide open three-pointer on the other end to beat the buzzer. At halftime, Rain or Shine trailed, 41-38.


The Elasto Painters picked up steam after the break, propelled by triples from Belga, Ryan Arana and Paul Lee. Meralco tried to hold the fort with Cortez's scoring and several offensive rebounds, but they slowly found themselves ceding the lead, 54-51, on a strong finish at the rim by Gabe Norwood.

The Bolts pulled ahead briefly as a result of Hugnatan and Guevara pressing in the paint, 58-56. However, Rain or Shine shot Meralco's zone to pieces in the last 3:38. Arana and Norwood nailed treys to spike a 10-2 run, and the Elasto Painters took a 66-60 advantage heading into the fourth period.

At 11:01, Cliff Hodge drove to the basket for two, 69-64, but hurt his right ankle on the way down. Hodge spent several minutes on the ground before he was assisted to the locker room. With Meralco's offense sputtering, Rodriguez and Chan connected from the perimeter to establish a 78-72 lead.

The Bolts settled down on offense and ran the offense through Rabeh Al-Husseini on the block. Joined by Dillinger and David, the trio scored or assisted on their next 15 points while containing Rain or Shine to isolation scores, 87-87, with under two minutes left.

Gary David led all scorers with 24 points. In addition, he chipped in four rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. Rabeh Al-Hussaini provided 14 points and seven boards, while Reynel Hugnatan came off the bench for 11 markers and nine caroms.

Giving the RoS offense a boost was the fact that they turned 19 Meralco turnovers into 19 turnover points. In contrast, their 13 miscues became 11 Bolts' markers. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Rain or Shine 94 - Belga 20, Arana 14, Rodriguez 13, Lee 12, Chan 11, Norwood 7, Cruz 6, Tang 5, Ibanes 3, Nuyles 2, Teng 1, Almazan 0

Meralco 89 - David 24, Al-Hussaini 14, Hugnatan 11, Cortez 10, Wilson 10, Dillinger 8, Hodge 7, Guevarra 5, Salvacion 0, Allado 0, Mandani 0

Quarter scoring: 18-23, 38-41, 66-60, 94-89