Rain or Shine gains solo lead after hard-earned win over GlobalPort

MANILA, Philippines — Rain or Shine tightened their grip on the top spot of the midseason conference standings after putting away a pesky GlobalPort side, 96-90, in a hotly-contested affair, Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

James Yap capped off a stellar off-the-bench performance with a pair of shots from the charity stripe to help put his team away from the Batang Pier's striking range and make it 95-90 with 17.3 ticks left. The veteran cager finished with14 markers second to import Reggie Johson's  18 team-best points.

"Another hard-earned victory for us. At least ‘di nila tinanggal kumbaga ‘yung focus nila after that scuffle," Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia said. "But I also have to review what happened," he continued, noting that his guard Maverick Ahanmisi was unfairly punished with an ejection.

"But I also have to review what happened ‘cause I don’t understand why Ahanmisi was thrown out. ‘Di naman siya [naka-]fighting stance, tinulak siya sa likod," the mentor pointed out.

Rain or Shine's Jay Washington, GlobalPort's Bradwyn Guinto, Ryan Araña, import Malcolm White were slapped with technical fouls for entering the court in the altercation that got Ahanmisi and Batang Pier forward Kelly Nabong ejected.

White, GlobalPort's foreign reinforcement, paced the with 21 points. Nabong chimed in 13 before his early exit.

@GlobalportPH cagers had to be escorted back to their locker rooms first. They fell to the @RoSEPainters in a hotly-contested game at the Big Dome. #PBA2018 pic.twitter.com/FQmswxotgL

— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrd) May 20, 2018

Multiple players from both teams nearly figured in a free-for-all late in the fourth period. #PBA2018 H/T @Sports5PH pic.twitter.com/6UtMiZaTV4

— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrd) May 20, 2018

Prior to the heated exchange, Chris Tiu absorbed an elbow to the jaw, which left him bloodied.

The game was already tense prior that altercation as Chris Tiu was left bloodied by import Malcolm White. [??Graphic Content] H/T @sports5 #PBA2018 pic.twitter.com/iC15WPzagK

— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrd) May 20, 2018

Tiu, who finished the game with 10 points, was inserted into the game in place of Ahanmisi. He immediately dealt a dagger three that swung the momentum in favor of the Painters. 

"First of all I don’t know why they didn’t call 'yung pagka-tama sa mukha niya," Garcia said of Tiu. "Clearly, in the widescreen,  kitang-kita 'yung pagka-tama sa mukha niya. That should’ve been a technical  ... Their import (White), the whole game, has been throwing elbows. I don’t understand why … since the first quarter, we’ve been complaining about it."

"But, ayun nga,  the nice thing about Chris, instead of going to the doctor, he still wanted to play," Garcia shared. "[H]e came in and he was able to deliver."

The victory improves the Elasto Painters' card to five wins and a loss.  They face Magnolia next, who is still yet to decide over a new import, on June 2.

The Batang Pier, who now have three victories and three defeats. They have slid to the fifth place in the Commissioner's Cup and have Alaska Aces as their upcoming assignment.

The scores:

RAIN OR SHINE 96 - Johnson 18, Yap 14, Ahanmisi 13, Almazan 12, Tiu 10, Ponferrada 9, Daquioag 7, Belga 6, Norwood 5, Torres 2, Nambatac 0.

GLOBALPORT 90 - White 21, Pringle 15, Anthony 14, Nabong 13, Tautuaa 8, Elorde 8, Grey 4, Javelona 3, Sargent 2, Guinto 2, Araña 0, Teng 0.

Quarterscores: 26-30, 45-45, 67-62, 96-90.