Jay R. Gotera
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — In a game that was tight for three quarters, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters suddenly exploded big-time in the fourth period and then cruised to a 110-104 victory over the Barako Bull Energy Friday night in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Sophomore guard Jericho Cruz led the Painters with 19 points while Jeff Chan added 18 markers, 11 of them in the decisive fourth quarter.
Jewel Ponferada had a huge double-double of 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting and 13 boards. Veteran Gabe Norwood and rookie Maverick Ahanmisi added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Rain or Shine nailed its fifth win in six games, tying idle San Miguel Beer at second to third place in the standings.
Barako Bull fell to a 3-4 win-loss card to take solo eighth place.
RR Garcia led Barako Bull with 23 points while Willy Wilson posted a double-double of 21 points and 19 rebounds. Josh Urbiztondo added 16.
Alaska 89, NLEX 81
Oozing with confidence, the Alaska Aces exerted just enough effort to beat the NLEX Road Warriors, 89-81, and thus vault into solo leadership with their fourth straight win and sixth overall against a single defeat.
After erecting a 20-point lead in the third quarter, the Aces felt they could afford to relax a bit, allowing the Road Warriors to cut the deficit to four, 82-78, with 1:53 left in the game.
But the Aces decided that was as far as the Road Warriors could go as JVee Casio ended a three-minute scoring drought with a booming three-pointer that virtually sealed the victory for Alaska.
Center Sonny Thoss led the Aces with 16 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore Rome Dela Rosa and Vic Manuel scored 11 points apiece. Calvin Abueva played his usual dazzling non-stop action game, posting 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
Dela Rosa hit all of his four shots, including two three-pointers and a free throw.
Rising star Sean Anthony once again was the main man for NLEX, finishing with 21 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter when he led the Road Warriors’ uprising that just fell short. Enrico Villanueva added 12 markers, nine rebounds and five blocks while Asi Taulava added 10 points and seven boards.
NLEX dropped to 4-3, tying idle Barangay Ginebra for fifth to sixth place.
Games Saturday: Mahindra Enforcers (1-5) vs. Meralco Bolts (1-6) and San Miguel Beermen (5-1) vs. Star Hotshots (2-5).
