Rain or Shine gets past Barako Bull

Rain or Shine couldn’t blow the same opportunity two straight games.
The Elasto Painters earned at least a playoff for the second twice-to-beat slot in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night by holding on for a 106-97 victory over Barako Bull at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Rain or Shine was again in command practically all night, and unlike its infamous fold up last week against tournament leader Alaska, the Painters got the job done this time.
“We knew that we let that game slip away,” Ryan Arana, the television panel’s Best Player of the Game with 18 points, said of their loss to the Aces, whom they led by 22 points in the third quarter.
“We played hard for the whole game tonight, unlike against Alaska when we relaxed after building a big lead,” Arana continued. “We learned our lessons in that game, obviously. And we knew what to do this time.” The Painters led the Energy by 19 with under six minutes left after a Bruno Sundov triple, but Barako Bull fought back and pruned the gap to within 10 entering the final two minutes.
It was like a scene straight out of the Alaska debacle, as coach Yeng Guiao, just like he did against the Aces, refused to call for time to map out plays for the Painters.
But Guiao’s wards responded and slowly put the game away as Rain or Shine rose to 9-4 in the standings and put the Energy on the bubble at 4-9, their hopes of advancing past the eliminations not resting on their own hands at the moment.
That Alaska victory last week actually gave the Aces the first twice-to-beat privilege in the quarterfinals and Rain or Shine can formalize a No. 2 finish on Wednesday when it closes out against Meralco.
Finishing with a top berth carries a big advantage in the quarterfinals, with No. 1 clashing with No. 8 and No. 2 battling No. 7 needing to win just once to make the Final Four.
The Aces didn’t let up even after bagging that privilege in the Rain or Shine win and Alaska will take a winning feeling into the playoffs after playing hard enough to nip ousted Globalport, 93-92, in the first game.
That victory gave the Aces an 11-3 card – improving on their best performance in a tournament since the end of the Tim Cone era – and Alaska could be looking at a quarterfinal clash with the dangerous Air21 Express and Michael Dunigan.
“This team just doesn’t give up,” said Alaska coach Trillo, whose Aces trailed by 15 points in the third quarter. “We had stretches where we were solid and we were not. The sharpness and focus were questionable.
“Entering the playoffs it’s going to be hard if we play this way,” added Trillo, who chose to rest stars Cyrus Baguio and Sonny Thoss.
Globalport lost for the ninth straight time in a 2-11 card and will occupy the bottom of the standings for the second straight tournament of its PBA existence.
RJ Jazul played a lot of minutes in the off-guard spot in the absence of Baguio and knocked in 14 points, half of them coming in the key run that put the Aces in the driver’s seat in the fourth period.