Red hot Rain or Shine capitalized on the absence of Henry Walker to uncork a strong finishing kick in the fourth and shrug off pesky Blackwater, 104-94, to be the first team through to the quarterfinals of the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup last night.
It was a rollercoaster contest between the two combatants but using momentum and experience, the Elasto Painters still had the last and most important say.
Chris Tiu once again came up clutch to save his team, hitting on three straight triples down the stretch to give the Elasto Painters the lift and leverage they needed against the hard-fighting Elite.
With the game knotted at 84-all and with 8:12 remaining, Tiu suddenly went on a scoring barrage as his consecutive triples jumpstarted the decisive 13-2 blast that gave Rain or Shine a comfortable margin, 97-86, with 5:12 left and the victory in the process.
Overall, the sizzling Tiu knocked down a total of four triples in the payoff period when the game was on the line, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the fourth while also registering 10 assists to go with seven more rebounds.
Raymund Almazan led all scorers with his own double-double of a game-high of 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Reggie Johnson had 17 markers and 20 boards for another strong performance for Rain or Shine.
Without its high-scoring import Walker, who only played more than seven minutes as he injured his left shoulder, the Elite, despite fighting hard and gaining significant leads on several occasions, was unable to answer down the stretch.
“My shoulder just doesn’t feel right,” said Walker when asked about his status after leaving the game early.
The Elasto Painters recorded their fourth straight win to once again move to solo first place with their 7-1 card. They also clinched the first berth in the quarters.
As for the Elite, the setback officially eliminated them out of contention as it fell to 1-8 with only two games left in its schedule.
In Walker’s absence for most part, Allein Maliksi led Blackwater with his team-high 23 points.
