Quinahan triple extends E-Painters' streak to 6

MANILA, Philippines -- JR Quinahan rifled in a three-pointer off Gary David at the buzzer and Rain or Shine stretched its hot streak to six games with an 89-86 nail-biter over Meralco that boosted the Elasto Painters’ Top Two aspiration in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.

The Elasto Painters perfectly executed a well-designed play in the last .7 second with Quinahan delivering the game-winning shot that jacked up Rain or Shine’s win-loss record at second place to 10-3.

The game looked headed for overtime as Paul Lee missed his own three-point attempt earlier, but John Wilson fumbled the rebound, giving Rain or Shine another possession with seven-tenths of a second left in the clock.

During timeout, RoS coach Yeng Guiao set a play for either Lee or Quinahan.

In-bounder Gabe Norwood failed to spot a cutting Lee but found Quinahan ready for a catch-and-shoot play right in front of the Rain or Shine bench.

The burly Cebuano frontline player managed to release the ball with .4 second left, and found the mark to personally hand Meralco yet another heart-rending defeat.

Beaten yet again at the buzzer, the Bolts went down to 5-8.

“Alam ko quick release si JR (I know JR is a quick-release shooter),” said Guiao on his decision to go to Quinahan for their final offensive thrust.

Quinahan actually muffed his first four three-point attempts in the game before making the last and most important one.

Jeff Chan, Lee and Norwood put in double-digit outputs for Rain or Shine which recorded a first six-game streak in franchise history.

“They’re saying we’re the hottest team at the moment. But we don’t relish that tag. There’s pressure there,” said Guiao. “We’re just taking the momentum to where it takes us.”

Raymond Almazan scored on a putback in the closing seconds as Rain or Shine led by six, 70-64, at the end of the third quarter.

The two teams fought toe-to-toe in the first half that ended at 45-all.

The E-Painters actually gained some headway, 30-23, on a 7-2 start in the second period but the Bolts were quick to retaliate, surging ahead at 32-30.

Gary David and Reynel Hugnatan led Meralco’s first-half stand, combining for 22 points and nine rebounds as against Rain or Shine’s well-spread production.

No Rain or Shine player scored more than six points in the first two quarters, but no less than 12 E-Painters joined the scoring column.

Beau Belga scored on a jumper off Danny Ildefonso then Paul Lee drained two charities and a three-pointer off Paul Artadi as Rain or Shine took its seven-point lead at 30-23.

But the Bolts pounced on Rain or Shine’s three straight missed offensive thrusts to seize the lead at 32-30 halfway through the second period.

From there, the two teams engaged in three lead changes and five deadlocks the rest of the first half.