Purefoods defeats Rain or Shine, 95-94, grab 2-0 series lead

source: PBA.ph

James Yap and Roger Yap were once again Purefoods’ men of the hour as the Giants made it two in a row over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters with a stirring 95-94 come-from-behind victory at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Moments after Talk n Text fashioned out a 106-105 stunner of a win over Ginebra Kings, the Giants essayed their own thriller, pulling through on two foul shots by James Yap with six-tenths of a second left.

Roger Yap also played a big role as he rallied the Giants from 20-point deficits on a 20-point explosion in the second half.

With James’ two charities, the Giants completed their swashbuckling comeback to move in the threshold of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup semifinal round.

Squeezing through with a follow-up on their 90-85 win in Game One, the Giants moved a win short of setting up a best-of-seven semifinal confrontation with the San Miguel Beermen.

Purefoods takes its first of three cracks at the semis in Game Three Wednesday in the same venue.

“The hardest thing about this series is that just everybody thought it’s gonna be a breeze for us. But Rain or Shine has proven they’re a tough team. We struggled through the first three quarters. It’s a relief we’re able to pull through,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

“The only advantage I see at this point is that we need to win only once and they need thrice. But until we get that one, it’s far from over,” Gregorio added.

Game Two had appeared to be a won ballgame for Rain or Shine but Eddie Laure committed a costly foul with James Yap on the act of shooting from beyond the arc in the dying second.

Yap coolly sank the first two foul shots and deliberately missed the third, sending the Giants and their supporters to a frenzied celebration.

The other Yap, earlier, carried the team on his back, tossing in 20 of his 22 points in the second half.

The hard-nosed Cebuano guard highlighted his explosion with 10 straight points in the crunch, giving Purefoods a one-point spread at 93-92 with time down to 27.6 seconds.

The Elasto Painters held the lead for the last time at 94-93 as Jeff Chan converted an off-balanced shot against Rafi Reavis.

Roger Yap also stood at the forefront of Purefoods’ attack as they erased deficits of 20 points early in the third period, surging ahead at 81-79 with 7:30 left in the contest.

Chan, Mike Hrabak and Sol Mercado combined for a remarkable 8-of-11 three-point shooting as the Elasto Painters enjoyed an 11-point spread, 52-41, at halftime.

Chan knocked in four treys, including one from way, way out at the buzzer.

The Elasto Painters could have gotten much bigger lead if not for the productions of James Yap and Kerby Raymundo for the Giants.

Yap and Raymundo scored 27 points together in the first half, keeping the Giants within striking distance going to the dugout at the half. (SB)

The scores:

Purefoods 95 -- Yap J. 23, Yap R. 22, Maierhofer 14, Raymundo 11, Artadi 10, Canaleta 9, Reavis 6, Timberlake 0, Pingris 0, Alaldo 0.

Rain or Shine 94 -- Mercado 26, Norwood 22, Chan 19, Hrabak 12, Reyes 7, Arana 5, Laure 3, Arellano 0, Ibanes 0, Telan 0.

Quarterscores: 17-26; 41-52; 71-76; 95-94