MANILA: Superstar Rain or Shine guard Paul Lee is making up for a lot of lost time and has grabbed hold of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title series by the neck for the Elasto Painters.
For the second consecutive night on Sunday, the Elasto Painters toasted Lee as the hero after the former Rookie of the Year dropped the game-winning short jumper at the buzzer for a 105-103 win and a 2-0 lead over Alaska in their best-of-seven series at the Araneta Coliseum.
Out for majority of the conference because of a knee injury, Lee has led the Painters to victories in their last three outings, counting the series-clinching win over San Miguel Beer in the Final Four.
“I guess it’s just perfect timing,” Lee said of how he has rounded out to top form of late as he has put Rain or Shine to within two more wins of a first title since 2012 and just the franchise’s second championship.
In Game 1 last Friday, Lee drained the dagger triple with 51 seconds remaining that resulted in a 105-97 win, capping a 20-point performance that had coach Yeng Guiao declaring him to be “back as the leader of this team.”
And like in that play, Lee found himself wide open as a result of a defensive breakdown, which Alaska coach Alex Compton rued as the key to another loss.
Game 2 was a lot closer compared to the series opener, with the Aces forging the game’s last tie at 103 after import Rob Dozier flicked in a jump hook over Beau Belga with 27.3 seconds remaining.
Lee had actually ushered the Painters to a 103-99 lead with 1:05 to go after completing a three-point play off Dozier.
He wouldn’t be denied getting a shot at the game-winner, even if he had given Belga the opportunity to snap that tie after finding the burly center wide open from deep left corner for the triple.
“I was just lucky that the rebound fell my way,” Lee said in Filipino after coming from the baseline to chase down the long rebound. “And it was a good thing that when I looked at the (game) clock, there were still two seconds remaining.
“I thought that was a lot of time for me to really focus on that shot,” said Lee, who just made himself the prime candidate for the Finals MVP trophy if the Painters go on to win this series.
“It’s a tough game, but it’s a treat for the fans. A nice game to watch,” Guiao said. “Game 3 will be tougher than this one. This is what we expected. The good thing is that we have a 2-0 lead.
“We have a cushion, but that’s not going to be safe against Alaska,” he said.
The crucial third game, which will be a must-win for the Aces, is set for Wednesday.
“They know they are a good team,” Guiao said of Alaska, the losing finalist in the last two conferences to San Miguel Beer. “They know they can come back and we also know that.
“We have to try harder in Game 3. They played a lot harder today, forced us to make turnovers, forced us to make bad decisions. That’s why this series will be tougher and closer.”
Jeff Chan hurt the Aces in the middle two quarters, scoring all of his 17 points there, including 12 in the second, while Belga, Jericho Cruz and Jewel Ponferrada accounted for 14 apiece.
Those performances again made up for the cold offensive game of import Pierre Henderson-Niles, who scored just eight points.
RJ Jazul fired 24 points, including two late triples that kept the Aces in the thick of the fight, with Dozier finishing with 18 after coming from a career-high 41 points in the series-opening loss.
For the second consecutive night on Sunday, the Elasto Painters toasted Lee as the hero after the former Rookie of the Year dropped the game-winning short jumper at the buzzer for a 105-103 win and a 2-0 lead over Alaska in their best-of-seven series at the Araneta Coliseum.
Out for majority of the conference because of a knee injury, Lee has led the Painters to victories in their last three outings, counting the series-clinching win over San Miguel Beer in the Final Four.
“I guess it’s just perfect timing,” Lee said of how he has rounded out to top form of late as he has put Rain or Shine to within two more wins of a first title since 2012 and just the franchise’s second championship.
In Game 1 last Friday, Lee drained the dagger triple with 51 seconds remaining that resulted in a 105-97 win, capping a 20-point performance that had coach Yeng Guiao declaring him to be “back as the leader of this team.”
And like in that play, Lee found himself wide open as a result of a defensive breakdown, which Alaska coach Alex Compton rued as the key to another loss.
Game 2 was a lot closer compared to the series opener, with the Aces forging the game’s last tie at 103 after import Rob Dozier flicked in a jump hook over Beau Belga with 27.3 seconds remaining.
Lee had actually ushered the Painters to a 103-99 lead with 1:05 to go after completing a three-point play off Dozier.
He wouldn’t be denied getting a shot at the game-winner, even if he had given Belga the opportunity to snap that tie after finding the burly center wide open from deep left corner for the triple.
“I was just lucky that the rebound fell my way,” Lee said in Filipino after coming from the baseline to chase down the long rebound. “And it was a good thing that when I looked at the (game) clock, there were still two seconds remaining.
“I thought that was a lot of time for me to really focus on that shot,” said Lee, who just made himself the prime candidate for the Finals MVP trophy if the Painters go on to win this series.
“It’s a tough game, but it’s a treat for the fans. A nice game to watch,” Guiao said. “Game 3 will be tougher than this one. This is what we expected. The good thing is that we have a 2-0 lead.
“We have a cushion, but that’s not going to be safe against Alaska,” he said.
The crucial third game, which will be a must-win for the Aces, is set for Wednesday.
“They know they are a good team,” Guiao said of Alaska, the losing finalist in the last two conferences to San Miguel Beer. “They know they can come back and we also know that.
“We have to try harder in Game 3. They played a lot harder today, forced us to make turnovers, forced us to make bad decisions. That’s why this series will be tougher and closer.”
Jeff Chan hurt the Aces in the middle two quarters, scoring all of his 17 points there, including 12 in the second, while Belga, Jericho Cruz and Jewel Ponferrada accounted for 14 apiece.
Those performances again made up for the cold offensive game of import Pierre Henderson-Niles, who scored just eight points.
RJ Jazul fired 24 points, including two late triples that kept the Aces in the thick of the fight, with Dozier finishing with 18 after coming from a career-high 41 points in the series-opening loss.
