With Troy Gillenwater ejected early and June Mar Fajardo fouling out later on, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters completed a comeback from 16 down and stunned the San Miguel Beermen in overtime, 123-119, to hand the Beermen its’ second loss in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, Sunday night in Antipolo City.
The Elasto Painters are now on top of the team standings with a 4-1 card, while the defending champions went 0-2.
“The effort of the players, they showed their character today,” lauded Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia. “It was a test of character for both teams, and luckily we were able to pull this win.”
Stocky reinforcement Reggie Johnson powered Rain or Shine with 27 points and 19 rebounds, while Raymond Almazan produced import-like numbers with 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting alongside 14 rebounds.
Almazan made a huge imprint in the contest, scoring eight of the Elasto Painters’ 11 points in the extra period — clearly keen on winning this time around as he and Rain or Shine are coming off a sour 96-104 loss to Columbian Dyip last May 9.
The Elasto Painters actually had a good start in the contest and even left the Beermen behind by 12, 23-11, but as usual, the latter roared back, displaying their brand of basketball to eventually lead by as many as 17, 56-49.
However, Rain or Shine did not allow San Miguel to keep its hold of the lead. Behind 93-98 early in the fourth, Rain or Shine made a 9-2 rally — ended by Gabe Norwood’s twin triples — to snatch the lead, 102-100, with 5:20 remaining.
Both teams then traded buckets the rest of the way. The E-Painters had the chance to seal it with 18 ticks left, 112-100, but an Alex Cabagnot lay-up plus an Elasto Painters backcourt violation and a missed Chris Ross trey sent it to OT.
From there, Almazan and the Elasto Painters cast their spell with their defensive intensity, leaving the Beermen stunned and down to the ground.
Chris Tiu and Maverick Ahanmisi had 16 points apiece — combining for five three-pointers — for Rain or Shine, while Norwood had an all-around performance of 15 markers, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block.
Arwind Santos led the Beermen with a third career-best 29 points and nine rebounds. June Mar Fajardo provided 26 points and 11 boards, while Marcio Lassiter chipped in 18 markers spiked by four triples.
Christian Standhardinger bounced back from his lackadaisical debut, showing what he can bring to the table with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Import Troy Gillenwater underperformed again as he only had 11 points and three rebounds. He only played for 13 minutes and 56 seconds, as he got thrown out of the match in the first half as he bumped one of the game officials.
Rain or Shine will look to keep rolling versus GlobalPort next Sunday, May 20, 4:30 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, while San Miguel will look to end their skid versus Alaska on Saturday, May 19, 5:00 PM in Dumaguete City.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 123 — Johnson 27, Almazan 25, Ahanmisi 16, Tiu 16, Norwood 15, Daquioag 7, Torres 5, Washington 5, Ponferada 4, Yap 3, Belga 0, Onwubere 0.
San Miguel 119 — Santos 29, Fajardo 26, Lassiter 18, Standhardinger 17, Cabagnot 14, Gillenwater 11, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Ross 2, Espinas 0.
Quarterscores: 30-23, 49-63, 84-90, 112-112, 123-119.
