THE RAIN OR SHINE Elasto Painters will march to the playoffs on a mini roll after they nailed a 91-85 win over the eliminated Alaska Aces last night in the 37th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Painters ended their elimination round campaign with nine wins and five losses, winning their last two games to finish fourth after the eliminations.
Rain or Shine, however, will be in for a tough battle as it will be facing the dangerous Barangay Ginebra Kings in a best-of-three quarterfinal showdown.
The Kings were still playing the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters as of press time. Talk ‘N Text went into the game already assured of a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarters.
“Ginebra will be a good match-up for us. They are strong in the wings and we’re strong in the wings. They have good big men but they’re not that dominant,” said assistant coach Caloy Garcia, who called the shots for the Painters in lieu of head coach Yeng Guiao.
Beau Belga and Ronjay Buenafe both scored 14 points to lead the Painters, who broke away in the fourth period.
Larry Rodriguez scored 12 points, while Jervy Cruz and Ronnie Matias added 10 each as Rain or Shine started building double digit leads in the final three minutes to seal the win.
Cyrus Baguio fired 21 points to lead the Aces, who ended their dismal campaign losing their last four games.
The Aces, who had to make big adjustments prior to the start of the season after former coach Tim Cone moved to the B-Meg Llamados, started the competition with six straight losses that set the tone of their forgettable campaign in the season-opening tournament.
The Aces failed to get past the elimination round only the third time in the last 32 conferences or since 1999./EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA