Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Just like their first encounter, the San Miguel Beermen looked poised to take the game away from the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters as early as the first half.
But just like their previous meeting, Rain or Shine once again got the better of the Beermen, 98-96, in Game 2 of their best-of-five semifinals series in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday (April 26) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jericho Cruz paced the Elasto Painters with 16 markers, while import Pierre Henderson-Niles and Jeff Chan each chipped in with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Even before tip-off Rain or Shine already had a handicap heading into the match, with their vocal head coach Yeng Guiao forced to miss the game due to political responsibilities.
The Beermen rushed to 36-24 advantage early in the second period, but saw it slowly shrink down to a mere 46-45 lead by halftime.
After the half it was Rain or Shine’s turn to go on a run, as they fashioned out a 63-52 advantage of their own in the third period.
But after a late run by the Beermen, that lead also disappeared and the game had to be settled in the very last possession of the ballgame.
After Paul Lee split his free throw attempts to give Rain or Shine a slim 98-96 lead with 13.8 ticks left on the clock, the Beermen had to conjure up a bucket to extend the contest.
As time expired, Marcio Lassiter almost mishandled a low Alex Cabagnot pass, but found a way to let a shot from beyond the arc fly which duly bounced off the backboard and into the net.
But much to San Miguel’s dismay, a review of the play on the court saw the shot chalked off due to the time hitting zero before the ball left Lassiter’s hand.
The Beermen were led by Tyler Wilkerson with 35 points.
The San Miguel Beermen will look to stay alive in the series against Rain or Shine on Thursday (April 28).
