Manila, Philippines – Rain or Shine brought down heavyweight Petron Blaze in overtime while Barangay Ginebra slammed Alaska last night in the 2014 PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Elasto Painters snapped a two-game losing skid dealing Petron Blaze its first loss this season-opening conference with a pulsating 99-95 win.
In the opener, Barangay Ginebra toppled Alaska, 96-89, for its third straight victory.
Paul Lee, one of the rising stars in the league, delivered a dagger three-pointer from the left corner right in front of the Elasto Painters bench and then let out a scream as his shot pushed the lead to four points, 97-93, with 36.2 seconds left in extra period.
The win gave Rain or Shine solo fourth place with a 5-3 record, just half a game behind the defending three-time champion Talk ’N Text (5-2), putting the Painters back on the winning track after absorbing back-to-back defeats.
Nevertheless, Petron Blaze remains on top of the leaderboard but now co-leads the field with Ginebra San Miguel at 7-1. The SMC sister teams dispute the solo lead on Christmas Day.
Lee finished with 15 points, while Jervy Cruz led Rain or Shine with 23 points. Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga and JR Quinahan contributed 11 points apiece.
June Mar Fajardo and Chris Lutz scored 22 points each for Petron, reigning MVP Arwind Santos contributed 18 points, while Alex Cabagnot, who almost won it for the Boosters but his three-point try from half-court rimmed out at the buzzer, had 16 points.
While Rain or Shine’s performance took the spotlight during yesterday’s Petron Saturday Special, Ginebra’s conquest of Alaska likewise had its share of highlight reels.
LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar led a big third quarter comeback as they caught fire in the pivotal third quarter.(Waylon Galvez)