E-Painters overpower Kings, level series 1-1

MANILA, Philippines — Reggie Johnson and James Yap hit clutch treys in Rain or Shine’s strong windup from 14 points down, and  the Elasto Painters got back at the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 109-100, in Game Two of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinal showdown last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Johnson and Yap nailed back-to-back three-pointers to highlight their 12-to-nothing closing run as the Elasto Painters bounced back from their 89-102 defeat in Game One and reduced their semis playoff with the Kings to a best-of-three affair.

Rain or Shine and Ginebra dispute the pivotal 2-1 lead in their next game at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow over at the MOA Arena.

Meanwhile, titleholder San Miguel Beer seeks a sweep of its own semis series with the embattled Alaska Milk side at 7 tonight at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.  

A team playing a short rotation, San Miguel Beer certainly enjoys added boost with the extra rest they got on the postponement of the last two play dates because of heavy rains.

“Admittedly, there’s an advantage but also disadvantage on the postponement of the Wednesday game. An advantage for us is getting our players ready for another game with a lot of running. That’s their game; they press a lot,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.

ROS coach Caloy Garcia said putting up a determined effort after falling behind by 14 points early in the game, and applying solid defense and running great plays at endgame allowed them to tie their series at 1-1.

“In Game One, I felt we played their game. After that I told the guys we’re in the semis and we have to come out, play with heart and show our desire. We can’t win by just trying to keep up with them,” said Garcia.

“I told them you must show that you want to win. They did; they played with their hearts out,” Garcia added.

Johnson delivered a near triple-double game with 25 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists while Yap came up with 18 markers to lead four ROS locals who put in double-digit outputs.

From 14 points down at 21-35, the E-Painters rallied to tie at halftime, 57-all, then put up a tough stand before beating out the Kings in the last three minutes of the contest.

The Kings were still in the lead at 100-97 in the last 3:11 mark before being shut out the rest of the way.

The E-Painters put the game away at 107-100 entering the final minute on back-to-back three-pointers by Johnson and Yap.

After struggling with a 9-of-38 clip from beyond the arc the last time out, the E-Painters made a big improvement in this game, connecting with 15-of-37 three-pointers.