Rain or Shine, Toyota Otis join leader

Rain or Shine and Toyota Otis pulled off contrasting victories yesterday to forge a three-way tie in the lead in the PBL Unity Cup at the Olivarez Gym.

The Elasto Painters slammed the Teletech Titans, 71-65, while the Sparks whipped the Montaña Jewels, 73-65, for their fourth win both in five outings.

Rain or Shine and Toyota Otis thus joined Montaña atop the heap.

Heroes Cup MVP Jojo Tangkay led the Elasto Painters with 17 points but it was Jay-R Reyes who made things happen on both ends with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

"We kept our focus and we managed our lead well," said Rain or Shine coach Leo Austria.

"We didn’t give up, that’s the key," said Toyota Otis mentor Louie Alas.

Unlike in their stunning loss to Montana Pawnshop last Tuesday, Tangkay dished out an all-around performance, scoring a team-high 17 points, including a booming trey in the last three minutes that was enough to cushion TeleTech’s spirited comeback.

"I told him to relax himself and that was the key. He created so many plays for his teammates," said Austria.

Reyes also posted his first double-double performance.

Though the Elasto Painters dictated the tempo of the game, they needed one big effort down the stretch to finish off the Titans.

Rain or Shine raced to a commanding 65-52 lead on Tangkay’s triple – his only basket from beyond the arc – with still over four minutes.

Just when everybody thought the game was over, the Titans, starring Mel Latoreno and Francis Mercado, unleashed a vicious 9-3 run to cut Rain or Shine’s lead to 61-68, with 44 seconds left.

But it proved to be their last gallant stand as Eugene Tan hit two pressure-packed charities to seal the win 70-61, only 31 seconds remaining.

Latoreno paced the Titans with 17 points while Nino Gelig and Mercado combined for 24 points.