JAY R. GOTERA
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — With a balanced attack, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters overcame injuries and another monstrous game by reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo to hack out a 111-106 victory over the San Miguel Beermen in Game 3 of their best-of-7 semifinals series Saturday night.
Rain or Shine thus took a 2-1 lead in the series going into Monday night’s Game 4.
The Painters grabbed the crucial win despite missing the services of their tallest player, the 6’8” starting center Raymond Almazan, who suffered an undisclosed injury before the game. Late in the match, the Painters lost another key player to injury when guard Jericho Cruz was wheeled off the court after he hurt his left knee following a flagrant foul given by SMB’s Marcio Lassiter.
Seven Painters scored in double-digits led by the comebacking Paul Lee who scored 18 points. Lee played just his third game of the conference after being sidelined by an injury just before the new PBA season began.
Beau Belga had a double-double of 14 points and 14 boards while Gabe Norwood and Jeff Chan added 13 markers apiece. Jewel Ponferada and Chris Tiu each had 12. Rookie Maverick Ahanmisi added 10 points.
It was another frustrating night for Fajardo whose 40 points and 20 rebounds in the game all went down the drain as the Beermen succumbed to the relentless attacks by the Painters in the endgame.
Unlike the first two games of the series when Rain or Shine dominated the first half and erected 20-point leads, Game 3 was closely fought from start to finish.
The first quarter ended with SMB ahead by just a point, 27-26. The two teams continued swapping baskets in the second quarter. With the clock winding down, the Painters uncorked an 8-0 blast to erect a 58-50 lead at halftime.
Fajardo went into overdrive in the third frame as he poured 18 of his points in that period. The league’s most dominant player scored on a variety of shots, including fade-away jumpers and putbacks.
The Beermen posted a whopping 36 points in the third quarter alone as against Rain or Shine’s total team output of 20 as SMB ended the quarter ahead by eight, 86-78.
Norwood led a scorching run by the Painters in the fourth quarter as they retook the lead, 92-91.
Fajardo drilled two free throws and Lassiter buried his fourth triple of the game, giving SMB a 98-96 lead.
But the Painters answered with an 8-0 blast including back-to-back three-pointers from Cruz and Belga.
With Rain or Shine ahead by just a point, 107-106, Cruz grabbed the rebound and was speeding downcourt with just seconds remaining when he was sent crashing to the sideline by Lassiter.
As Cruz was wheeled off the court, Chris Tiu converted the two free throws for Lassiter’s deliberate foul, giving Rain or Shine a 111-106 with 3.9 seconds left en route to victory.
Game Sunday: Alaska Aces vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier (Game 4 of best-of-7 semifinals; Alaska leads 2-1).
