As the big names came to play in the dying stretch, Stanley Pringle crushed the 111-all deadlock with a ferocious driving layup against the Elasto Painters defense to nip Rain or Shine by a basket held on a thrilling Friday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
A closely-contested first quarter featured four deadlocks as the two teams went back-and-forth offensively. Terrence Romeo scored nine first quarter points that led to an early six point lead in the 2:27 mark of the period. However, the youngsters of the Elasto Painters sliced five points off the the lead courtesy of two straight jumpers by Jeric Teng and Raymond Almazan scoring in the last seconds.
With perimeter shots starting to fall, ROS captured a small lead but was quickly erased by the fast game of the Batang Pier. For the last nine minutes of the half, GlobalPort took the lead and even extended it to as high as ten at 62-52 behind efforts from Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle. Timely buckets by Jewel Ponferada and Jeff Chan in the final minute of the first half shaved the lead to half.
The thrilling exchange led to another close one in the third canto with GlobalPort winning it by only a point at 25-24. During the stretch, the Batang Pier led by as much as seven but a 7-0 in the middle of the quarter capped by JR Quiñahan’s shooting tied the match. Rain or Shine was able to tie the game for a couple of times but was unable to take the driver’s seat against Global.
Batang Pier threatened to make the game theirs by putting a strong start to the final frame as they built a baker’s dozen lead with 6:40 left in the match. However, Rain or Shine fought back in the next minutes on a collective effort from their five to tie the game at 111 with 14 seconds to play. During the latter parts, Jeff Chan nailed a tough long two pointer while Belga was responsible for the game-tying free throws. After a timeout, Pringle then made the game-winning drive against the outstretched defense of the Rain or Shine bigs.
The fearless Pringle mentioned after the game that the isolation play with seconds to play was a sign of maturity in his game. “Obviously it will not fall all the time but thankfully it went in. I just take it game by game and thankfully we got the win,” Pringle said. “I just think(during these moments) about making the right play, shooting it or passing it.”
The duo of Pringle and Romeo combined for 52 points and 11 rebounds on a combined 18/30 shooting from the field. Keith Jensen chipped in 21 more including five bombs from three-point territory. For the losing Rain or Shine squad, Beau Belga topped the team in scoring off the bench with 21 marker on 6-of-9 shooting from the field while Chan added 17.
Overall, the Batang Pier shot nine more three pointers that spelled the difference. Rain or Shine dominated the fast break points, 31-16 and were hoarding the lion’s share in terms of points in the paint, 60-42.
GlobalPort are now winners of three straight outings as they improve to a 3-1 record. They will next face the Alaska Aces, 4:15pm on Friday, November 20 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. On the other hand, Rain or Shine absorbs its first loss in four outings and will try to get back in their winning ways against Blackwater, 3:00pm on Saturday, November 21 at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Scores:
GlobalPort (113) – Pringle 27, Romeo 25, Jensen 21, Yeo 11, Washington 10, Kramer 6, Mamaril 4, Uyloan 3, Maierhofer 3, Paniamogan 3, Pena 0, Sumang 0.
Rain or Shine(111) – Belga 21, Chan 17, Cruz 15, Almazan 12, Ponferada 11, Quinahan 8, Norwood 7, Teng 7, Trollano 4, Ibanes 3, Matias 2, Ahanmisi 2, Tiu 0, Nimes 0.
Quarterscores: 30-29, 62-57, 87-81, 113-111.
Photos by PBA Images
