The league-leading Rain or Shine Elasto Painters showed excellent poise as they clawed back from 19 down early to emerge victorious over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 108-106, Saturday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City.
The Elasto Painters have solidified their hold of the top spot of the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup standings as they improved to 8-1. The Fuel Masters, meanwhile, have lost their fourth straight and are now carrying a 3-6 card.
“It’s another hard-earned win for us,” said Elasto Painters head coach Caloy Garcia. “During halftime, I told the players that we can’t be complacent against any team as I felt that we didn’t want to win today’s game.
“Then it was just defense in the second half which was different from the way we played in the first half,” the second-year head coach added.
Import Reggie Johnson anchored Rain or Shine with 32 points, 17 rebounds, and five assists. Beau Belga and James Yao each fired 13 points, while Raymond Almazan chipped in 11 markers on 5-of-11 field goal shooting.
Rain or Shine had an ugly start in the bout, no thanks to their former comrade Jeffrei Chan waxing hot on offense. With Chan and import Eugene Phelps conspiring, Phoenix roared to a 29-10 lead with 2:12 left in the first.
The Elasto Painters though gained their flow gradually. And the game all went different come the fourth quarter, as Rain or Shine overcame a nine-point deficit by unloading a 24-9 rally to take a 104-98 lead with 4:10 on the clock.
Phoenix still tried to manage things and worked their way up from the deficit. Big thanks to RJ Jazul hitting his shots from beyond the arc, the Fuel Masters were able to knock within a solitary point, 106-107, with less than 50 seconds left.
Momentum seemed to have shifted towards the Fuel Masters after that. Phelps took matters in his own hands, but his heroics suddenly turned into nothing as his go-ahead bucket off a drive badly missed.
Gabe Norwood then split his charities to give Rain or Shine a two-point cushion with five seconds left.
Phoenix ran out of timeouts but had enough time to set up a shot. Willie Wilson got the ball and quickly dished it to Matthew Wright, but the latter apparently panicked and hastily threw a triple, which went over the top.
Phelps led Phoenix with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists. Chan had 26 points — 23 in the first half. Wright provided all-around numbers of 15 points, eight caroms, and five dimes against seven turnovers.
Rain or Shine will next face the Meralco Bolts on June 24, Sunday, while Phoenix will aim to end their slump versus the GlobalPort Batang Pier on June 20, Wednesday. Both games are set at 4:30 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 108 – Johnson 32, Yap 13, Belga 13, Almazan 11, Tiu 9, Daquioag 7, Ponferada 7, Ahanmisi 7, Norwood 5, Borboran 2, Nambatac 2.
Phoenix 106 – Chan 26, Phelps 26, Wright 15, Jazul 13, Kramer 11, Wilson 6, Perkins 5, Chua 4, Revilla 0, Intal 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarterscores: 17-31, 45-57, 80-85, 108-106.
