The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters weren’t about ready to give up their Governors’ Cup crown just yet.
The defending champions rallied back from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit for a 92-87 victory over the Petron Blaze Boosters in Game Three of their best-of-five semifinals series.
“We just avoided the embarrassment of being swept,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who didn’t arrive at the game until the second quarter after being stuck in traffic on the way to the venue.
That hardly mattered early on, as Rain or Shine was in control for most of the match until Petron came alive in the final period. The Boosters started the fourth quarter on a 15-4 run to open up an 85-76 spread.
But TY Tang, Arizona Reid, JR Quinahan, and Jeff Chan each hit a three-pointer to spark a 13-0 run to take back the lead. The Elasto Painters allowed just two points for Petron the rest of the way, to cut its series deficit against the Boosters to 2-1.
“If we can win on Monday that will give us a serious shot at going to the finals,” said Guiao.
“We’re trying to use this as capital to encourage ourselves.”
The Elasto Painters performed better from the three-point line, making 9-of-28 shots from beyond the arc after missing all 18 of their three-point shots in Game Two.
Rain or Shine also did a better job controlling Petron big man June Mar Fajardo, who finished with nine points and in rebounds after netting 24 and 14 last game.
“We’re getting to know better how to play him,” said Guiao, who praised Quinahan for helping defend Fajardo. The burly center missed the last game because of Achilles tendinitis, which he had to play through in the Game Four win.
Reid led Rain or Shine with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists, while Chan added 18 points and seven rebounds.
Alex Cabagnot top-scored for Petron with 18 points, but import Elijah Millsap struggled anew from the field, finishing with just 17 points on 4-of-21 shooting (19 percent). The loss snapped Petron’s franchise-record 11-game winning streak.
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