PJ Simon knocked in a cold-blooded three-point shot with 57 seconds left, and B-Meg survived the loss of a 21-point first-quarter lead to outlast Rain or Shine, 102-100, and register the longest winning streak by far in the PBA Philippine Cup at five games Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Simon surprisingly was left open at the right corner after the Elasto Painters’ defensive rotation got messed up after a heart-breaking lay-up miss by Beau Belga, and Rain or Shine failed to convert on its pair of possessions including a desperate three-point launch by rookie Paul Lee as the Llamados sustained their steady rise in the standings with their seventh win as against four setbacks.
“Well, it doesn’t get any tougher than that,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone. “We were lucky we escaped with the win. PJ hit that big shot. It was a game where every shot counted. They hit a three, we hit a three.
But we hit the big shot in the end.” After a 2-4 start, the Llamados now have a piece of third-to-fifth spots in a tie with the Painters and idle Meralco, something that Cone never really thought of weeks back.
“My goal two or three weeks ago was to have a foundation,” Cone said.
“But we knew very well that we were playing good basketball. If you try to shortcut wins, it will take longer.’ James Yap wound up with a personal season-high 32 points – 19 in the first half — on 12-of-20 shooting while Simon finished with 16 points on a 2-of-3 clip from the three-point range. Marc Pingris added 13 rebounds and 10 points.
Rain or Shine, which once paced the standings, has now lost three straight and absorbed its second straight defeat decided by two points after an overtime 106-104 loss to defending champion Talk ‘N Text last Saturday.
Lee had 21 points, but shot just 4-of-11 from the field. His last and potential game-winning shot came just too far for comfort, as the man who was supposed to provide the pick atop the keyhole failed to pop out that left the rookie sensation by himself to maneuver for a shot.
It was a genuinely strength-zapping defeat by Rain or Shine, which was on the verge of completing a comeback from 24-3 in the first quarter after Josh Urbiztondo hit a triple.
But the Llamados definitely had the superior firepower down the stretch, and refused to give up even though Rain or Shine at one point led 98-95 (3:25) on a triple by Lee and at 100-99 on a jumper by Belga (1:30).
Belga could have stretched the lead further, but he miscalculated on his fastbreak lay-up with the ball hitting the back of the rim hard.
In the heat of the moment, the Llamados retaliated with their own run, and found Simon wide open at the corner.
Earlier, Doug Kramer poured in six points and rookies JV Casio and Marcio Lassiter each knocked in a three-point shot in a key 12-2 run by Powerade in the third quarter, and the Tigers coasted to a 102-84 win over Shopinas.com to inject life in their bid of making the quarterfinal round for the first time in seven conferences.
The win was the Tigers’ fourth in 11 matches, and it likewise put an end to their four-game losing streak.
“What’s more difficult than losing is the thought that we could have won perhaps two out of the four games we just lost,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol. “It’s been a struggle in our minds why we lost games when we could have won it. But I think we have the mindset that we wouldn’t give up.” Lassiter finished with 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Kramer collected 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers, who will now have to brace for the worst as they enter the deepest stage of the 14-game elimination round.
James Sena paced the Clickers with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Elmer Espiritu, Paul Escobal, and Paolo Hubalde each added 12 points.
Shopinas.com now is one defeat shy of matching the longest losing streak in PBA history suffered by Great Taste in 1982 and two years after by Country Fair.
Although Powerade did have a difficult time peeling off from Shopinas.com in the first half, it had little trouble in the third quarter.
After that decisive blast, the Tigers went on to continue with their barrage and, after the quarter ended, were up 84-64. In that period, Powerade went 14-0 in points off turnovers against the Clickers, and likewise had a 10-0 gap in fastbreak points.
Meantime, Meralco guns for its first-ever three-game winning streak in franchise history, eyeing to repeat over Petron Saturday in Naga City.
“It’s a good motivation,” said Bolts’ coach Ryan Gregorio. “And we will do everything to accomplish it.” Because of its win against Barako Bull Wednesday, Meralco made it back into the playoffs after a two-conference absence. Now, the Bolts will hope to make it back-to-back against the Boosters in a battle between two teams that still have chances of finishing with twice-to-beat incentives in the quarterfinal round.
