ROS beats SMB anew to seize commanding 2-0 lead in semis

Jay R. Gotera MANILA — The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters survived a furious endgame rally by the San Miguel Beermen to escape with a 98-96 victory in Game 2 of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series Tuesday night. The Painters thus erected a commanding 2-0 lead in the series and could finish off the Beermen with another win Thursday. Rain or Shine was ahead by 11 points, 93-82, with less than 5 minutes left in the game when SMB sparked a huge 11-2 run, capped by back-to-back three pointers by Alex Cabagnot. His last triple cut ROS’ lead to just two points, 95-93, with 34.1 seconds left. The Beermen had a chance to steal the win when Marcio Lassiter banked in a desperation three-pointer that went in. However, the referees ruled that the shot came after time had run out, nullifying it. ROS played a balanced offense with all 12 players sent by coach Yeng Guiao scoring. They were led by Jericho Cruz who finished with 16 points. Import Pierre Henderson-Niles played his best game yet for ROS, tallying 15 points and 16 boards in 37 minutes on the floor. Jeff Chan came through with 14 points, Maverick Ahanmisi had 10 while JR Quinahan added nine all scored in the fourth period. The SMB heartbreaker put to naught import Tyler Wilkerson’s 35-point, 18-rebound, five-assist, and two-block performance. Cruz started hot for Rain or Shine, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the opening quarter. Behind the exploits of Cruz, Rain or Shine raced to an early lead, only to fall back in the face of a San Miguel uprising. The Beermen took a 36-24 lead following a 9-1 run in the second quarter. The first half ended with SMB on top by a hairline, 46-45. The Painters came out firing at the start of the third quarter, with Chan scoring seven straight points on a rare four-point play followed by a three-pointer as ROS seized a 59-49 lead. The Painters protected their lead up to the fourth quarter and only wavered a bit in the closing minutes when the Beermen launched their last-ditch rally, only to fall short in the last second of the game. With time winding down, Lassiter fumbled the ball, managed to recover it after wasting a few precious seconds before releasing a desperation three-pointer that got out of hand with the game clock already at zero. Game Wednesday: Alaska Aces vs. Meralco Bolts (Game 2 of best-of-5 semifinals; Alaska up 1-0).