Lee three lifts Elasto past Ginebra 93-90

With one flick of the wrist, Paul Lee went from goat to hero and kept Rain or Shine unscathed.
The super rookie last night drained a triple under heavy pressure with 2.6 seconds left, lifting the Elasto Painters to a 93-90 decision of Barangay Ginebra for Rain or Shine’s fourth straight victory in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
It was a game-winning play that came after Lee himself committed a boo-boo that allowed the Gin Kings to knot the game for the last time at 90-all, a game that for all intents and purposes, downplays that fact that he is the team leader despite being a rookie.
“I really wanted the final shot because I wanted to make up for the turnover I committed,” Lee, the second overall choice in the last Draft, told reporters later. “I felt that I had something to make up for after that turnover.”
The Painters were ahead, 90-86, heading into the final two minutes after a Jamelle Cornley jumper only to allow the Kings to creep back in, with Lee’s errant pass while being on the ground too hot for Cornley to handle.
That passing error came after Kerby Raymundo had hit two free throws, and after gaining possession, import Cedric Bozeman drove and connected on a running jumper off the glass for the 90-all count.
Ginebra thus lost for the second time in four outings and dropped to the middle of the pack.
Both teams actually muffed possessions, and Rain or Shine got the ball back with 18.9 seconds to go after Bozeman dribbled off his foot and allowed Gabe Norwood to recover the loose ball.
Coming off a timeout, the Painters milked the clock through Cornley before giving the ball to Lee with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Lee then dropped the game-winning triple over the outstretched arms of Rudy Hatfield and hushed a pro-Ginebra crowd at the Big Dome, sealing the best start in Rain or Shine’s history in the PBA.
“Paul is playing like a 10-year veteran, not afraid of taking responsibilities and having the ball in his hands at the most crucial times,” a beaming Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said, while seated beside the 6-foot Lee inside the press room.
“In Paul’s hands, we trust that he will make the right decisions.”
Cornley finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds, and Lee 18 markers built around a 4-of-5 clip from beyond the arc. One of Lee’s treys actually capped a 7-0 spurt that made it 86-81 heading into the final 4:39.
Bozeman led the Kings with 22 points and Mark Caguioa added 18 but was not a factor in the endgame.
The Rain or Shine win overshadowed B-Meg’s 88-83 triumph over Meralco in the first game as the Llamados took a share of second spot with idle sister team Petron Blaze at 3-1.
B-Meg was at its defensive best when the game was in the balance, shutting the down the B-Boys as the Llamados rolled to their third straight win after opening up with a loss to Rain or Shine.
Marcus Blakely finished with 31 points to pace the Llamados, while Marc Pingris, aside from playing good defense all night, shot all of his 10 points in the final period.
“Between him (Blakely) and Ping (Pingris), we got guys who can shut down players,” B-Meg coach Tim Cone said.
Mac Cardona scored eight straight points to tie the game at 83 with 2:46 remaining when Blakely, during one B-Meg timeout, asked Cone to take on the Meralco defensively.
Cardona and the B-Boys never scored again after that.
Meralco took a third straight loss in a 1-3 slate and played import Champ Oguchi for the last time. Oguchi shot just 12 points and missed all 10 of his three-point attempts.
In his place would be former Atlanta Hawk Mario West, who is due to arrive Thursday and play against the struggling Alaska Aces on Sunday.