Despite being down by as many as 18 points, Wayne Chism and the rest of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters successfully completed their fourth quarter surge, and defeat the Ginebra Kings, 82-79, while displaying a lot of extracurriculars from both teams in the fourth held at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Kings’ defense was prevalent as the Painters were held for two points in the game’s first five minutes. Mid-ranged baskets fell for Mike Dunigan and Mac Baracael dropped, while Greg Slaughter anchored the defense early on the other end. Rain or Shine struggled to find their rhythm in the opening period, which gave Ginebra an early lead, 10-2. An Emman Monfort triple made it a 17-8 affair that started a 10-3 run for the Kings.
Ginebra’s first quarter onslaught extended their lead up to a high of 13 points, but Ryan Araña drilled jumpers to slice the lead down to eight after 12 minutes. While the Painters settled with the man-to-man defense to start the second, Japeth Agular started to make noise with his presence underneath. Aguilar and RoS’ Beau Belga exchanged baskets in the paint, but Ginebra hung on with a double-digit edge over the Painters.
Joseph Yeo and LA Tenorio fielded in the middle of the second canto, thus the transition game for Ginebra began to take root. Yeo’s bank shot made it a 16-point spread despite the Painters triples slowly starting to drop as Jireh Ibañes managed to drain one. Wayne Chism, after a quick breather, scored on two straight baskets to make it a 10-point game heading into the break.
In the third period, the Painters started to mount their comeback anchored by Chism who dictated the offense both in scoring and setting up his teammates. Paul Lee initiated the rally with a triple that sliced the lead down to five. As Rain or Shine’s zone defense making it hard for Ginebra’s guard to execute their offense, the Elasto Painters managed to make it a close game despite trailing by as much as 18 earlier.
Chism assisted on two JR Quinahan baskets including a trey that made it 56-55 in favor of Rain or Shine. Afterwhich, the teams got to an exhange of buckets which made the game intensely played heading into the final period. In the final quarter, physicality was showcased by both teams.
Veteran Dorian Peña and youngster Raymond Almazan clashed as tempers started to flare in the ball game. After both got slapped with technicals, Ginebra reinstalled another lead at 79-71 courtesy of Ellis and Caguioa’s quick baskets. Meanwhile, the crowd got into the action, where bottles were thrown at the playing court while two spectators were ejected off the area.
Beau Belga also got into the picture as he clashed with Emman Monfort for a rebound in one play. The effort on the defensive end by Monfort triggered the Painters impeccable rampage late. A quick 7-0 capped by a Paul Lee triple made it a one point affair with less than 90 seconds to play. Chism provided the necessary closing baskets while Ginebra muffed on their three pointers late as the former’s team accomplished their great comeback.
