Rookie Paul Lee leads ROS again to victory, this time over Powerade

A pair of huge defensive stops in the final minute steered Rain or Shine to a tense 96-93 win over Powerade Sunday night to earn a piece of the early lead in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. Protecting a three-point lead with 57 seconds left, the Painters forced the Tigers to commit a 24-second shot clock violation, and Jeff Chan blocked a potential game-tying shot from beyond the arc by Gary David as time expired, allowing the team to preserve the hard-earned win, its second in as many games in the season-opening meet. The Painters, a 94-93 winner over Ginebra Kings in the All-Filipino opener, are now tied with idle Petron Boosters on top of the standings. “I consider this as a good sign," said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “We’re winning close games. Before our tendency was to collapse but now we proved that we can close out tight games." Rookie Paul Lee and Chan each had 19 points to show the way for the Painters, although the second overall pick in the last PBA Rookie Draft committed a mental mistake in the stretch when he took an ill-advised shot from beyond the arc even when the Tigers were already in penalty. Still, Lee’s two critical free throws stretched a slim 94-93 lead to three, a cushion the Painters kept on the way home. “Paul Lee made one or two misjudgements," admitted Guiao. “He’s still a rookie, but as I said he’s special. He’s getting together well with our players and maganda naman ang samahan. The chemistry is getting better." The Painters then shut down Powerade’s top gunners, foiling baskets by Gary David and rookie Marcio Lassiter for a shot-clock violation in the next play. But the Tigers still found the door open for a possible overtime game when Lee attempted that untimely three-point attempt, leaving Powerade with eight seconds to go for a game-tying shot. Jireh Ibanez fouled Cruz with four seconds to go. Unfortunately, the veteran guard botched the front end of the two free throws, forcing him to deliberately miss the second. David grabbed the loose ball, and then swiftly took his spot off the right corner and aimed for a three-point basket. But Chan scrambled back to defend and rejected David’s shot. Doug Kramer showed the way for Powerade with 16 points while David was held to only 14 after scoring 31 in a 98-87 win over Shopinas last Wednesday. -OMG, GMA News The scores Rain or Shine (96) -- Lee 19, Chan 19, Norwood 11, Arana 10, Quinahan 9, Rodriguez 8, Belga 7, Buenafe 6, Ibanes 3, Cruz 2, Matias 2. Powerade (93) - Kramer 16, David 14, Anthony 13, Lingganay 12, Lassiter 12, Calimag 11, Cruz 7, Martinez 3, Adducul 3, Crisano 2, Allera 0, Antonio 0. Quarterscores: 21-21, 40-39, 68-65, 96-93.