PBA: Rain or Shine forces Game 7 against Talk 'N Text in Jeff Chan's return

Jeff Chan fired 11 points off the bench to provide the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters some extra firepower and force a do-or-die Game 7 against the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, 101-93, on Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

"It's a nice win for us; we played a lot better defense today than the last time," said Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao. "The only way to beat Talk 'N Text is to be prepared to make the stops; we were able to challenge a lot of their shots."

Wayne Chism had 18 points and 24 rebounds in  40 minutes of play, hitting nine charities to make up for his shaky shooting. Raymond Almazan also had 18 points with an eight of 10 shooting shooting clip.

"Jeff Chan wanted to play. He gave us a big boost trying to show the rest of the team that he wanted to make a contribution even in pain," Guiao added. "Almazan was not only there in offense but also in defense challenging shots of Ranidel [De Ocampo] and Jayson [Castro]."

Paul Lee led the reinforcements with 16 points, while Jervy Cruz chipped in 10. JR Quinahan had an efficient night, hitting nine in 14 minutes, while Chris Tiu had seven.

The Texters relied heavily on their starters, with its first five combining for 68 points. Ranidel De Ocampo topscored with 21 points, while Jayson Castro had 17. Harvey Carey and Larry Fonacier added 13 and 11, respectively. Ivan Johnson was limited to six points and six rebounds in 32 minutes.

'Maybe [Ivan] Johnson's just not playing a good game," said TNT coach Jong Uichico of him import. "Based on his productivity, it happens. You give credit to what Rain or Shine did, to the adjustments that they made."- GMA News


The scores:  

RAIN OR SHINE 101 - Almazan 18, Chism 18, Lee 16, Chan 11, Cruz Jericho 10, Quinahan 9, Tiu 7, Norwood 6, Ibanes 3, Arana 3, Uyloan 0, Belga 0.

TALK N' TEXT 93 - De Ocampo 21 Castro 17, Washington 14, Carey 13, Fonacier 11, Johnson 6, Alas 4, Williams 4, Rosser 3, Aban 0.

Quarters: 23-18, 54-42, 76-71, 101-93