MANILA – Chris Tiu waxed hot in the fourth period as Rain or Shine Elasto Painters cruised to a 104-94 win over Blackwater Elite in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the score tied at 84-all midway in the fourth quarter, Tiu unloaded three straight three-pointers to surge the Painters ahead at 93-86.
The Elite tried to rally back but Tiu converted another triple to give the Painters its largest lead at 101-89.
Tiu finished the match with a near triple-double of 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and the Painters moved back to solo first place in the standings with a 7-1 win-loss slate.
Raymond Almazan led the way with double-double 26 points and 12 rebounds. Reginald Johnson and Maverick Ahanmisi added 17 markers apiece.
With the win, the Painters secured a quarterfinals seat.
The Painters had a strong start in the first period for a 10-point lead on triples by Johnson and Tiu. The Elite turned things around in the second period to take the lead but the Painters surged ahead anew at the half, 52-47, on baskets by Almazan.
The Painters went up by 11 points in the third canto on back-to-back treys by Gabe Norwood and Eduardo Daquioag but the Elite got a huge response from Nard John Pinto and Allein Maliksi for an 80-72 lead.
The Painters had a strong start in the fourth period with consecutive baskets from Maverick Ahanmisi, Beau Belga, Johnson and Norwood to knot the count for the last time at 84-all.
Maliksi top-scored with 23 points, including five three-pointers, while Pinto and John Paul Erram had 16 and 10 points, respectively, for the Elite, which bowed out of playoffs contention with its 1-8 win-loss card.
In the second game, Meralco Bolts squandered a double-digit deficit before escaping with a 103-100 overtime victory over Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Rommel Nino Canaleta led the way with 30 points, including six three-point conversions, while Baser Amer added 19 markers for the Bolts (5-2). Fuel Masters dropped to 3-4.
BOX SCORE:
RAIN OR SHINE 104 – Almazan 26, Tiu 17, Johnson 17, Ahanmisi 17, Belga 6, Borboran 5, Norwood 5, Ponferada 4, Daquioag 3, Yap 2, Washington 2, Casiño 0, Nambatac 0.
BLACKWATER 94 – Maliksi 23, Pinto 16, Erram 10, Zamar 9, Sumang 8, Jose 7, Sena 6, DiGregorio 4, Al-Hussaini 4, Cortez 3, Belo 2, Walker 2.
Quarterscores: 25-28, 52-47, 72-80, 104-94./PN
