Painters hold Tenorio scoreless to nip Aces

Sol Mercado chose to sit out Rain or Shine’s game against Alaska Sunday, opting instead to heal his hurting left foot. But even while sitting on the bench, he gave a piece of his mind on how to beat the Aces. "He (Sol) told me to put Jireh (Ibañes) on (L.A.)Tenorio," Elasto Painters coach Caloy Garcia intimated. Mercado's suggestion proved to be a brilliant move as Rain or Shine held Tenorio scoreless and the rest of the Aces silent in the final 5:52 of the Elasto Painters' shocking 80-79 come-from-behind win Sunday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. The Elasto Painters rallied from a 70-79 deficit by holding the well-experienced Aces to 0-for-10 shooting from the field. Rain or Shine also forced Alaska to three crucial turnovers down the stretch to pull off the stunning win. Ryan Arana’s two critical free throws capped the Elasto Painters’ 10-0 run, pushing them on top for good, 80-79, with 6.6 seconds remaining. “Luck was on our side in the end," acknowledged Garcia of the team’s fifth win in 10 games to stay in the middle of the All-Filipino standings. “The only way to beat Alaska is through defense. The breaks of the game went to us in the end. Blessing sa amin ito and we remain at the middle of the pack." Rain or Shine’s defense again made the difference in denying Alaska of a last-second basket. Cyrus Baguio’s fall-away near the basket after an isolation play at the top of the key went off the mark, and Joe Devance’s one-handed follow-up hit the rim hard before Rain or Shine grabbed the defensive rebound to clinch the win. Gabe Norwood finished with 17 points to pace the Elasto Painters. He also issued the pass that allowed Arana to put up a shot while being fouled in the process by Tenorio, leading to the winning free throws. Rookie RJ Jazul scored a career-high 16 points, while Arana ended up with 13 points and six rebounds. It marked the first time Tenorio went scoreless in his last 94 games. The last time he failed to score was during Game 3 of the 2008-09 Finals between the Aces and the Talk `N Text Tropang Texters. The wily guard finished with 0-of-6 shooting from the field, never went to the foul line, and committed a team-worst four turnovers, the last of which was an eight-second back-court violation in the last 16.7 seconds and with the Aces on top, 79-78. The Aces have now lost three of their last four games and seven of their last nine over-all for a 5-7 record. They appear in danger of missing out on the third to sixth spots in the playoffs. The loss put to naught the career-high effort of Mark Borboran, who scored a team-high 19 points. Devance added 17 points, but had only four in the second half. Sonny Thoss had a double double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV