PBA: Chan hits game winner as Rain or Shine downs Barako

Jeff Chan hit the game-winning trey with 10 seconds left to lift the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters over Barako Bull Energy Cola, 99-95, in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, Friday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Rain or Shine improved to 6-3 and kept their hold on fourth place in the elimination round standings, while Barako Bull, 3-7, dropped to ninth after losing seven of their last eight games.

After an 8-2 swing by Barako Bull, Paul Lee failed to score on a two-for-one chance with the time winding down, to reduce Rain or Shine's lead to a single point, 94-93 with 29 seconds left, Barako with the possession. Denok Miranda fed Willie Miller coming off a down screen, who connected from 20-feet to give Barako Bull their first lead of the game, 95-94, with 18 seconds left.

The Elasto Painters swung the ball around to Jeff Chan who was hot all night from long-range, and he knocked one down from deep, 97-95. The Energy called their last timeout with 10 seconds left, but failed to get a shot off as Ryan Arana stripped JC Intal. Barako Bull were forced to foul Gabe Norwood, who hit charities to seal the final score.

Chan torched Barako Bull with 34 points, including a 7-of-10 display from beyond the arc, to go with six rebounds. Paul Lee was the only other Elasto Painter in double figures with 14 points.

"Everything we gained in the first half we lost in the second half," lamented Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao. "We relaxed a little bit, but it's a good thing Jeff saved the day for us. He had a good game all night long and it was just appropriate that he won us the game.

"Barako Bull gave us a really tough time. We're lucky to survive a good offensive night from those guys," he finished.

Both teams looked for shots early in the clock to start the game. Jeff Chan had three triples in the period and made the difference for Rain or Shine, 24-15. With three minutes to play, Barako Bull put in Willie Miller to give their offense a boost, and the former two-time MVP then scored or assisted on their last six points to end the quarter trailing by seven, 28-21.

Good ball movement set up Rain or Shine's cutters for balanced scoring in the second quarter, increasing their lead to 39-29 on a jumper by Jervy Cruz. Barako Bull had their moments offensively, such as when Denok Miranda and Mick Pennisi hit consecutive treys to make it a single-digit game at 4:24, 46-37, but they couldn't hold it together on the defensive end.

In the last 22 seconds, Chan couldn't finish and and-one in transition, but laid the ball in after an offensive rebound to give Rain or Shine a 56-42 halftime lead.

JC Intal is starting to make the third-quarter comeback a habit for the Energy, as this time he stormed his way to the hoop for eight points in a 16-4 run, while Barako Bull turned stops into transition chances, 60-58. Paul Lee quelled the run with a three-pointer, and drained another trey in the process of scoring the Elasto Painters' next nine points, 69-61.

With Barako Bull gaining confidence, Dorian Pena and Denok Miranda steered them to an 8-3 run to close the quarter, but Chan bailed out the Rain or Shine with a turnaround trey at the buzzer, 75-69.

The Energy hung around but had trouble containing the Elasto Painters' penetration play, as Rain or Shine scored six of their last eight points from the line, 92-85, with four minutes to play, before Barako Bull made their last stand.

Beau Belga sat out tonight's game for Rain or Shine due to illness. "We missed Beau because we had a wide body [in Pena] to defend against, so that was a problem for us in the matchups," said Guiao. "But we're not making it an excuse, we have to make do with what we have."

Rain or Shine went 31-of-84 (36.9 percent) from the field, and 12-of-33 (36.4 percent) from three-point range. Barako Bull was 39-of-82 (47.6 percent) from the floor, weighed down only by a 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) mark from the arc.

The Elasto Painters were 17-7 in turnover points, while the Energy was 16-11 in second-chance points.

JC Intal top-scored for Barako Bull with 16 points and four rebounds. Dorian Pena offered 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Rico Maierhofer had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Denok Miranda tallied 14 points and eight assists. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

Rain or Shine 99 - Chan 34, Lee 14, Cruz 8, Nuyles 8, Norwood 8, Quinahan 6, Tang 6, Teng 5, Rodriguez 4, Arana 2, Almazan 2, Tiu 2, Ibanes 0

Barako Bull 95 - Intal 16, Pena 15, Maierhofer 14, Miranda 14, Miller 9, Pennisi 6, Lastimosa 5, Isip 5, Jensen 4, Macapagal 3, Marcelo 2, Labagala 2, Wilson 0, Buenafe 0

Quarter scoring: 28-21, 56-42, 75-69, 99-95