MANILA: Paul Lee shrugged off the pain of another elbow to the mouth and returned to be the biggest man in the endgame for Rain or Shine.

The 6-foot point guard hit the last eight points of the Elasto Painters from the stripe on Wednesday night and keyed a 94-90 win over upset-conscious KIA Motors as Rain or Shine stayed in the running for a top four berth in the playoffs of the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Lee had to step off the floor midway through the fourth period when he took an accidental elbow to the kisser from JR Buensuceso, before returning in the stretch to carry the Elasto Painters to their fifth straight win and sixth in 10 games overall.

That shot was the third hit in the mouth that Lee took in the last two months or so, with the first coming in the Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Talk ‘N Text when Ivan Johnson knocked out a tooth and had Lee needing cosmetic surgery to put his teeth back in place.

Against the Carnival, Lee came back after a brief rest and made eight straight free throws from the final 2:04 that helped the Painters stave off the hard-fighting Carnival.

“We expected a hard game and that’s exactly what it turned out to be,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said during the customary winning coach’s interview. “It was our experience that gave us the edge (in the end game).

“We were able to close out the game better.”

The results of Wednesday night’s doubleheader favored the Elasto Painters, who can claim an outright top four berth – and a twice-to-beat privilege – with a win in their last game, which will be against Meralco on Sunday.

KIA lost for the second straight game and dropped to 4-5, out of top four contention but definitely still in it for a berth in the quarterfinals, which would be the first for the franchise.

Import Hamady N’Diyae worked his butt off and almost took the Carnival all the way, shooting 31 points, grabbing 21 rebounds and swatting away eight enemy attempts in a bold effort that fell just short.

The Carnival need to win against either Talk ‘N Text on Friday or over the Bolts next Wednesday to march on. They also fell a win short with PJ Ramos in the Commissioner’s Cup.

As of now, San Miguel Beer, the league-leader with an 8-2 record, is assured of a twice-to-beat privilege.

Alaska, which is at 7-2, is also practically on the same boat and both will dispute No. 1 ranking on Saturday in Panabo City in Davao Del Norte, which will be the Beermen’s final elimination round assignment.

The Aces will still play Globalport on Tuesday with the Batang Pier, who are at 6-4, also shooting for a win that would give them a chance at getting a top four berth.

Crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra stayed in playoff contention later in the night after thumping Barako Bull, 120-98.

The Gin Kings opened up with a 30-12 run in the fourth period and put the Energy away, improving to 4-6 while dealing Barako Bull its third straight loss in a 6-4 card.

Orlando Johnson scored 41 points and five other contributed 10 points or more in a balanced offensive effort for the Kings, who will gun for a playoff berth against ousted NLEX at the close of the elimination round on Wednesday.

Emman Monfort, a 5-foot-7 point guard, sparked the tall and beefy Gin Kings in their breakaway as Ginebra wriggled free from an 81-77 game at the end of the third period to win pulling away while grabbing all the momentum it needs for the game against the Road Warriors.

Monfort finished with 12 points and also had eight rebounds and four assists, easily his biggest performance in the tournament that gave Ginebra a new lease on life.

For the Energy, it was another performance worth forgetting.

After setting the pace for more than half of the elimination round, the Energy now find themselves on the bubble and could eventually wind up needing to beat a higher-ranked foe two straight times to make the Final Four.

Liam McMorrow led the Energy with 32 points and 11 rebounds and Joseph Yeo had 18, all but two coming in the first half.

Barako Bull will close out against another powerhouse – defending champion Star – on Sunday in a game the Hotshots also desperately need to win.