Tony Washam carried B-Meg Derby Ace into his shoulders for four full quarters before the rest of the Llamados took over in the extra period of a dramatic 105-100 win over Rain or Shine Sunday at the Big Dome. The win enabled the Llamados of an entry into the semifinals of the PBA Fiesta Cup. Playing in just his second game, Washam, a second-generation import, exploded for a conference-high 49 points before a roaring crowd of 20,026, steering the Llamados to the hard-earned victory that almost slipped out of their hands after watching the Elasto Painters ferociously fought back from as much as a 23-point deficit. The Llamados clinched the grueling quarterfinals affair, 3-2. They trailed the Elasto Painters midway in the series, 1-2, before winning the last two games by deciding to junk Clif Brown for Washam.
Scores: Derby Ace 105– Washam 49, Maierhofer 17, Yap. R. 14, Ya J. 13, Reavis 8, Canaleta 3, Aratadi 1, Simon 0, Pingris 0, Allado 0. Rain or Shine 100 – Norwood 25, Mercado 23, Nealy 12, Laure 12, Cruz 8, Arellano 6, Arana 5, Chan 3, Hrabak 3, Telan 2, Salangsang 1, Ibanes 0. Quarter scores: 29-14, 58-40, 72-69, 90-90, 105-100
“You’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg," said coach Ryan Gregorio of his import, a European League veteran, who's a son of former Gilbey's Gin import Dartona Washam. The younger Washam shot 17-of-33 from the field and was 6-of-9 from downtown. “Tony just came in at the right place and at the right time." The reigning Philippine Cup champions now take on the well-rested and defending champion San Miguel Beermen in the best-of-seven semifinals series that begins Wednesday. For a while, the semifinals stint looked bleak for the Llamados, who lost a huge 56-33 lead. They found themselves trailing 85-88 with 1:41 to go in regulation on a follow-up basket by Eddie Laure. Laure’s basket capped Rain or Shine’s spectacular second-half comeback, but the Elasto Painters just simply couldn’t hang on. Raffi Reavis scored on a follow-up, and after Sol Mercado had a split, Niño Canaleta hit his only triple for the night to push the Llamados up again at 90-89 with 47 seconds left to play. Mercado had another split in the ensuing possession to level the score at 90, and both squads traded ill-advised shots, with Mercado failing to win it after launching a long three-point shot at the buzzer. The Llamados’ locals went to work from there. The Llamados raced to a 96-90 lead, before keeping its poise when the Elasto Painters came to within a field-goal twice – at 100-98 and 102-100 – both coming off baskets by Gabe Norwood. James Yap practically sealed it with a pair of charities with 10.1 seconds to go, 104-100. “It was truly an incredible series," said Gregorio. “Every time we face Rain or Shine, we were always pushed to the limit. I’ve coached for more than 300 games, and this is one of the toughest, most emotional. It’s because of experience why we prevailed." Rico Maierhofer led all Derby Ace’s locals with 17 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation, while James Yap, sporting a slightly swollen left eyelid caused by an inadvertent head-butt in Game Four from Mercado, highlighted his 13-point performance by connecting on all six free throw attempts in overtime. Norwood finished with 25 and Mercado added 23 for the Elasto Painters, who only got 12 points from import Rod Nealy. Coach Caloy Garcia opted to sit out Nealy in the second half at the height of Rain or Shine’s searing rally. -
RCJ, GMANews.TV 
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