Painters survive Express, stay alive for quarterfinals

Rain or Shine survived a spirited Air21 comeback and scored a gripping 92-89 win Sunday night in the PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. The win set up the Elasto Painters in a do-or-die, playoff match with the Coca-Cola Tigers on Friday for the last quarterfinals berth. The winner will earn the right to face the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados in a best-of-five series. The Elasto Painters squandered a 21-point, first-half lead, but kept their poise in the endgame to claim the victory. Rod Nealy hit a clutch three-pointer and Sol Mercado completed a lay up off a steal against Wynne Arboleda as Rain or Shine took the lead for good, 91-87. “Every time we play Air21, it always ends up the same way -- close game, running game and physical game," said an obviously relieved Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia. The Elasto Painters previously beat the Express in overtime in the first round, 106-102, and then repeated it in the second round, 113-111, in a game best remembered for their gritty comeback from 28 points down before guard Ryan Arana scored on a putback at the buzzer to win it all. This time, the Express almost did the same thing on them. The Express rallied from a 25-46 deficit in the second quarter, and then took an 87-86 lead on an Arboleda basket entering the homestretch of the tightly-fought ball game. But Nealy nailed his final trey of the game to put Rain or Shine in front, 89-87. Mercado, then, came through with a big defensive play by anticipating Arboleda’s weak pass off a waiting Ronjay Buenafe at the right wing to stretch the lead to four. “I give credit to the players, especially Sol (Mercado). He failed to join the practice because his dad had a heart attack," said Garcia of the stocky Rain or Shine guard. “He’s dedicated this game and this win for his team and his dad." Jeff Chan led the Elasto Painters with a conference-high 24 points, highlighted by his steady 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range. His shooting kept the team at bay several times at the height of the Express’ big offensive explosion in the third period.

Nealy added 19 and Mercado with 17. LeRoy Hickerson finished with a team-high 18 points, 14 of them coming in the third period, but none in the pivotal fourth. The flamboyant import missed a jumper with six seconds left and the Express trailing, 89-91. The Express fouled Nealy in the next play, to stop the clock, and the Rain or Shine import split his two free throws that opened the door for a last-second, Air21 comeback with 1.1 seconds remaining. But Hickerson’s potential game-tying, three-pointer, came up short at the buzzer, sending Air21 crashing out of the wildcard for the second straight conference. - GMANews.TV