(CNN Philippines) — Import Wayne Chism was a dud, but it hardly mattered for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Rain or Shine bucked Chism’s putrid shooting night by heating up from the three-point area to defeat the Meralco Bolts, 92-82, in Game 2 of their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup semifinal duel at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum on Sunday (April 5).
“They took the risk of double teaming Chism, and that opened up our shooters and luckily for us, we were making those outside shots,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, whose team shot a league season-high 19 three-pointers — the second all-time most in the franchise’s history.
Paul Lee was in tow in the import’s stead, scattering 23 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc for the Elasto Painters, who turned a catch-up game into a breakaway by hitting eight treys in the pivotal third period.
Chism finished with a measly 11 points, while Rain or Shine rookie Jericho Cruz delivered big time anew with 15 points.
Down by as much as 14 in the first half, the Elasto Painters gained steam in the penultimate quarter and took a 17-point spread, 76-59, on back-to-back triples by Lee and another by Chris Tiu.
Meralco import Josh Davis bounced back from his 11-point Game 1 performance by scoring 25 points. But it did little to fan the flames for Meralco, which propelled a 21-2 run to take a 14-point lead in the opening quarter only to squander it in the second half.
With a 2-0 upperhand in the best-of-five series, Rain or Shine is now a win away from booking a free ride to the mid-season conference finals.
The E-Painters can close out the series on Tuesday at the same venue, but only if they play with the same grit and mindset according to Lee.
“Same mindset lang. (The) agressiveness on both ends, kailangan andun talaga. Kung maganda depensa, maganda rin opensa namin,” said Lee, who scored 10 points in the second period.
