Rain or Shine defeats Purefoods in QF Game 3

source: pba.ph

Jeff Chan made four three-pointers in the fourth quarter as Rain or Shine rallied to beat Purefoods, 95-92, in Game 3 of their KFC PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal series at the Araneta Coliseum.

One loss away from being swept in their best-of-5 showdown, the Elasto Painters summoned all their energy and never gave up even when the shorthanded Giants had seized control after three quarters.

Chan, a non-factor in Games 1 and 2, finally found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, going 4-of-5 from the trifecta zone as the Elasto Painters turned the game around.

The Elasto Painters fell behind by as many as 11 points late in the third quarter but they never gave up until Chan came up with two jolting threes that put the ROS ahead to stay, 76-72, with 10:18 to play.

“I was shooting badly in the first half but coach told me to keep shooting. I really felt good in the second half,” said Chan, who finished with a team-high 17 points that went with his six assists.

Purefoods still leads the series 2-1 but Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia believes the win will give his troops added confidence when they attempt to tie the series on Friday.

Game 4 of the best-of-5 series is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.

“Before the game I told my players all we have to do is compete and not look at the standing. I thought we played good basketball the past six games so I’m confident we can still pull this off. We just have to take it one game at a time,” Garcia said.

Garcia also acknowledged that his team needs to mature, citing the closing minutes when the Elasto Painters made poor shot selections and bad decisions that almost cost them the game again.

Purefoods played without injured big men Kerby Raymundo and Rico Mierhoffer and continued to miss PJ Simon but Garcia said he felt they would have still won Game 3 even if the two frontliners had played.

Gabe Norwood added four assists, two steals and 16 points including a two-handed follow-up slam of a Chan missed lay-up with 4.6 seconds remaining to seal the win. Mike Hrabak scored 15 points and Sol Mercado added 11 but was erratic all game with a team-high six turnovers.

It was disappointing loss for the Giants, who raced to a 12-point lead early in the first period, built another 11 point margin in the third before ending the quarter up 72-68.

But they made just 25 percent of their shots (7 of 27) in the fourth with James Yap going 0 of 4 from 3-point range.

James Yap eventually finished with 17 points on a 6 of 20 shooting while going 0 of 8 from three.

Nino Canaleta led all scorers with 18 points while Roger Yap, a key figure when P{urefoods dominated Games 1 and 2, also had 17 but managed just four points in the fourth quarter. (DBC)

The scores:

Rain or Shine 95 - Chan 17, Norwod 16, Hrabak 15, Mercado 11, Tang 10, Arana 8, Laure 7, Telan 5, Cruz 4, Reyes 2, Ibanes 0.

Purefoods 92 - Canaleta 18, Yap J. 17, Yap R. 17, Artadi 14, Reavis 13, Pingris 9, Fernandez 2, Adducul 1, Allado 1, Timberlake 0, Salvador 0.

Quarterscores: 29-25, 50-49, 68-72, 95-92.