Solomon Mercado, playing with a heavy heart and all, tossed in 13 of his 19 points in the final period to carry the Elasto Painters, who played without import Rod Nealy from the final 2:30 on and gave the Tigers their walking papers for the second time this season.

In the Philippine Cup eventually won by Purefoods several months back, the Painters similarly showed the Tigers to the showers also in the final game of the wildcard.

But Wednesday night, it looked like Coca-Cola had the inside track on the quarterfinal slot, having led by as many as 12 points in the first three periods and by eight heading into the final six minutes before Rain or Shine came up with a rally that was greatly rewarded.

“I just told my players to keep on playing,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia told reporters inside the Willie Caballes Hall of the Big Dome. “They really wanted to win and they didn’t lose heart out there.” Mercado, playing even with his father still gravely ill in the United States, hit a triple with 1:33 remaining to usher the Elasto Painters to the lead for the first time, 92-89, before hitting a left-handed layup off Asi Taulava in their next offensive to make it 94-90 with 47 seconds left.

He did foul out after committing a foul on a driving Gary David in the next Coca-Cola offensive, but the damage he did was good enough to ensure that the Painters would advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight tournament.

Up next for the Painters is Derby Ace, the reigning all-Filipino champion, as they start their best-of-five quarterfinal series on Friday also at the Araneta Coliseum.

Barangay Ginebra and Alaska square off in the other series with tournament No. 1 Talk ‘N Text clashing with the winner of the Gin Kings vs Aces series in the Final Four and San Miguel awaiting the winner of the Rain or Shine-Derby Ace match-up.

It was a sorry loss for Coca-Cola, which came into the game the winner of four of its last five outings. More painful it was because the Tigers were playing with complete command until their offense imploded.

David went on to score 29 points for the Tigers but had two crucial misses that aided Rain or Shine’s drive. John Williamson, their much-ballyhooed import, also failed to convert when needed despite also finishing with 29.

Gabe Norwood added 17 points for the Painters, while Nealy was lucky enough that he didn’t take the team down despite shooting just 15 points.

Jervy Cruz, the former Santo Tomas standout in the UAAP, had his finest game of the season with 13 points with Eddie Laure adding 12.

Meanwhile, there’s a strong chance that Kerby Raymundo will start playing for the Llamados again starting with their quarterfinal clash with the Painters.

The 6-foot-7 forward, who has been out since the elimination round because of knee injury, has started practicing with Derby Ace since Monday and coaching staff is hopeful that he will be able to return in time for Game 1.

“We’re just hoping for the best,” coach Ryan Gregorio told Arab News when asked about Raymundo. “So far, he has practiced well and doesn’t feel any pain. But we will know in the next couple of days.” In a related development at Derby Ace, the team Wednesday said that they will be sticking it out with the inconsistent Cliff Brown as an import and will continue evaluating his performances in the early games of the best-of-five series.