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PBA: Llamados shackle down Painters to snap alarming skid


Derby Ace went back to what it does best – play tough team defense. The no. 1 defensive team held Rain or Shine to its lowest output this season, scoring a runaway 75-67 win Wednesday night in the main game of a PBA Fiesta Cup doubleheader at the Araneta Coliseum. Three days after bowing to league leader San Miguel Beermen, 80-72, in a game that saw them lost grip of an 18-point lead following a fourth quarter meltdown, the Llamados turned on the table against the Elasto Painters this time, holding them to the fewest franchise score ever since entering the league in 2006. The Elasto Painters had actually just scored 62 points with only a minute left in the low-scoring game, but avoided the ignominy by scoring five more points on a Jervy Cruz basket underneath and a perfectly set-up Jai Lewis three-pointer. Still, the output was two less from the 69 points they scored in a similar losing cause against, ironically, Purefoods, last November 15 during the Philippine Cup. James Yap and import Cliff Brown combined for 38 points and instigated a closing 8-0 run to give the Llamados a 73-62 lead entering the final two minutes. Derby Ace improved to 4-3 in a tie for third place with Barangay Ginebra, a 101-100 winner over Air21 earlier. James Yap topscored with 20 points and became the latest member of the league’s 5,000-point club. “I didn't practice for two days because of a naggin pain on my thigh," said Yap, recalling how he banged his leg against Brown during the Llamados’ last outing against San Miguel. “I was given a rest by the coaching staff. The rest has helped a bit somehow as it eased the pain a bit." Brown added 18 points and 19 rebounds for Derby Ace, which led by as much as 55-41 in the third period. Rain or Shine suffered its second straight loss (3-4), but made a big comeback from that 15-point deficit behind the hustle and scoring of Jireh Ibanes and Ryan Arana bridging the end of the third period and early into the fourth. Sol Mercado’s driving lay up, with a foul to boot from Marc Pingris, brought the Elasto Painters to within 62-65. Mercado however, missed the bonus free throw. But Rain or Shine wouldn’t score again in the next five minutes, allowing the Llamados to put together a run of their own that sealed the outcome of the match. - RCJ, GMANews.TV

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