Rain Or Shine built a huge advantage in the third quarter and held on to a 102-95 win against Alaska in Game 2 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Despite Head Coach Yeng Guiao getting stuck in heavy traffic, the Elasto Painters, handed by top assistant Caloy Garcia, quickly went up by as high as 20 points, 63-43, early in the third period.
But the Aces rallied back and cut the lead to as low as five, 87-82, early in the fourth.
Back-to-back triples from Paul Lee helped Rain Or Shine rebuild a ten-point gap, 95-85, with less than five minutes left in the game.
But a 7-2 Alaska run put it back to five, 97-92, with 1:22 to go.
That, however, turned out to be the Aces' last stand as free throws from Lee and Gabe Norwood sealed the E-Painter's win that tied their best-of-seven series with the Aces, 1-1.
Jervy Cruz led five Rain Or Shine players in double figures with 19 points.
Eric Menk, on the other hand, turned back the hands of time again with an 18-point performance for Alaska.
Box Scores:
Rain Or Shine 102-Cruz 19, Uyloan 18, Norwood 15, Lee 13, Almazan 10, Chan 7, Arana 7, Quinahan 6, Ibanes 5, Belga 2, Tang 0
Alaska 95-Menk 18, Manuel 17, Baguio 14, Abueva 12, Banchero 8, Casio 8, Hontiveros 7, Thoss 3, Exciminiano 3, Jazul 3, Dela Cruz 2, Eman 0, Dela Rosa 0
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