Mercado sparks Painters' upset win over Beermen

Sol Mercado wants to make a mark before temporarily leaving his mother team Rain or Shine. The spitfire guard made sure it would be something memorable. Mercado unloaded a conference-high 26 points and towed the Elasto Painters to a surprising 110-107 triumph over the mighty San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday. Trailing by six, 82-88, with over eight minutes to play, Mercado unleashed eight points to spearhead the Elasto Painters’ telling 17-2 bomb and put his team in front, 99-90, with 4:16 to go. The Beermen swiftly responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a Denok Miranda lay-up with 3:01 left to inch within two, 97-99. But the Beermen couldn’t sustain their run and fell short in the endgame. “We’re happy that we were able to beat another powerhouse team in San Miguel. I hope this is the start of something better for us. If we continue playing this way, no team will relax when they face us,’’ said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia. The Beermen had one last chance of salvaging an overtime period. In the game’s final play, Dondon Hontiveros let loose a triple but failed to hit the mark. San Miguel Beer thus lost for the first time under coach Ato Agustin, who led his squad to five straight wins since taking over as head coach a month ago. It was the second straight win for Rain or Shine, which improved its win-loss record to 4-4, good for fourth place. The Beermen absorbed their second loss in eight matches, but still kept a share (NOTE: Tama ba yun?) of the lead. Prior to their game against the Elasto Painters, the Beermen had won their last six games. Down by five, 100-105, with under a minute left, Hontiveros came off a double screen and hit a catch-and-shoot triple with 31.2 seconds left to push the Beermen within two, 103-105. But Arwind Santos, San Miguel Beer’s reliable forward, picked up an ill-advised foul on Gabe Norwood, who made two free throws with 29.4 seconds to play. Hontiveros made a lay-up with 22.4 seconds left. San Miguel, then fouled Doug Kramer, who also made his shots from the foul line for a 109-105 lead. A quick Miranda basket at the other end shoved the Beermen within a basket again, 107-109. Jireh Ibanes was fouled immediately in the next play and split his charities, opening the door for a possible overtime. Hontiveros had a chance, but failed to cash in on his triple, allowing the Elasto Painters to pull off the upset. Mercado, who will leave tomorrow to join the Smart-Gilas National squad in its Asian games bid, kept the Elasto Painters in the thick of things in the third period just when San Miguel was about to pull away. With the Beermen protecting a 13-point lead, 67-54, but Mercado scored 10 points in a furious 21-9 windup by the Elasto Painters that brought them within striking distance, 75-76, at the end of the third. ‘’It’s a big win. I think our team is capable of beating anybody in this league. It’s just a matter of playing the way we should play. We need to continue playing hard every single game. I’ll miss these guys, but I am looking forward to play with Gilas. I am honored to represent the country and hopefully we can bring home the gold,’’ said Mercado, who is expected to miss at least two games with Rain or Shine while playing in the Asiad. ‘’Sol is a big part of this team; without him, we’ll definitely have a hard time,’’ said Garcia. Aside from Mercado, three other Rain or Shine players finished in double figures. Kramer had a career-high-tying 19 points and nine rebounds, Norwood added 18 and Larry Rodriguez chipped in 16. For San Miguel, Santos had a double-double of 23 markers and 10 boards. Jay Washington also had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV