E-Painters beat Hotshots in defensive grind
MANILA, Philippines — Rain or Shine turned up the defensive screws to prevail over Magnolia, 84-77, and take a 1-0 head start in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters held the Hotshots scoreless for a nearly three-minute spell in the fourth period to seize a 73-63 margin and repeatedly fended off their rivals’ uprising with timely baskets and defensive stops to draw first blood in the best-of-seven series.
“I told the players to battle it out on defense because Magnolia is one of the best defensive teams in the league. It was the challenge I issued to them,” said ROS coach Caloy Garcia.
“Kris Rosales played good defense and Javee Mocon didn’t look like a rookie. The guys just stepped up on the defensive end,” he added.
Mocon paced the Elasto Painters with 15, making six of them in the third where he sparked a 19-3 blast that gave them a 58-50 cushion after trailing by eight.
Norwood (13 points) and Beau Belga (12) also chipped in double-digit productions, combining for 15 in ROS’ fourth-quarter breakaway, even as Ed Daquioag wound up with 10.
“It’s great to win the first game but we have to forget about it and think about the second game right away. We won the game but it was a hard battle and knowing how coach Chito (Victolero) coaches, they’re going to do adjustments in the second game,” said Garcia.
Paul Lee topscored with 15 for Magnolia but was hardly a factor in the stretch, coughing out only three in the final canto.
Meanwhile, the defending champions San Miguel Beermen and the history-chasing Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters fire the opening salvo in their own semis series at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the MOA Arena.
A subplot in the series is the Best Player of the Conference race among San Miguel behemoth June Mar Fajardo and Phoenix one-two punches in Calvin Abueva and Matthew Wright.
The Fuel Masters are on a hot romp from their first-place finish in the elims.