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| PBA |
By Julian Reyes
QUEZON CITY--The third time's the charm for Rain or Shine.
In its third attempt to close out Alaska Aces in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters used a ferocious shooting from the 3-point land to finally solved the missing piece in its puzzle and salvage its second PBA championship, the first since 2012.
The Elasto Painters connected 15 triples in the Game 6 of the grueling best-of-seven finals series and played all out and all heart in the entire game to pound Alaska Aces, 109-92, and give coach Yeng Guiao his seventh PBA plum at Smart Araneta Coliseum, Wednesday night.
After bowing in the last two games of the series which delayed its official coronation as the 2016 Commissioner's Cup kings, the Elasto Painters made sure everything would go well this time around, and an astounding start in the game told how.
Rain or Shine buried Alaska early, closing the first frame with a huge 38-24 lead highlighted by six treys, including the last four from guard Paul Lee.
Lee already had 15 points after first and finished the game with 20, enough for him to be adjudged as the Finals MVP.
The game saw Lee and Beau Belga in early foul trouble for Elasto Painters, but they kept their composure down the stretch and their players stepped up to answer all the runs ignited by Alaska to cement its position on top.
Jericho Cruz made his presence felt for the Elasto Painters, draining numerous timely baskets to stop Alaska's several attempts to rally back and finished with 21 points.
Big men Raymond Almazan and JR Quiñahan also delivered goods for Rain or Shine, stamping their class inside to muster 15 and 14 points respectively.
All Rain or Shine players who took minutes playing inside the court put up numbers on the box score.
Unfortunately for Alaska, it found its position for the fourth time on its last five finals appearance in a bridesmaid finish, despite another monster performance from 'The Beast' Calvin Abueva who tallied a game-high 26 points.
Rain or Shine's win ended a valiant effort by the Aces--who were without injured Vic Manuel--in its quest to become the second team in the league to climb back from a 0-3 series deficit and force a winner take-all Game 7.
Boosted by its high-percentage shooting in the first quarter, the Elasto Painters remained cool under pressure despite seeing its 23-point lead built midway in the second quarter being trimmed to only 10, 59-49, before the break courtesy of three successive triples by rookie Kevin Racal and import Rob Dozier.
Rain or Shine quickly answered back when the game resumed, with Cruz and Gabe Norwood hitting big shots after big shots to take a 15-point lead, 84-69, heading into the fourth.
Alaska showed some of its never-say-die spirit in the fourth quarter when it attempted another rally, but Rain or Shine insisted a great defense which prevented its run and eventually sealed the deal.
Box Scores:
Rain Or Shine 109-Cruz 21, Lee 20, Almazan 15, Quiñahan 14, Ahanmisi 8, Chan 8, Henderson-Niles 7, Norwood 7, Belga 4, Tiu 3, Ponfereda 2
Alaska 92-Abueva 26, Racal 15, Jazul 14, Dozier 11, Baguio 9, Banchero 6, Thoss 6, Hontiveros 3, Exciminiano 2, Baclao 0, Menk 0, Dela Rosa 0
Quarterscores: 38-24, 59-49, 84-69, 109-92
Follow him on Twitter: @JrAdmiral_16
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