For the second straight time, Rain or Shine failed in its bid to nail its first title in the PBA after the B-Meg Llamados pulled off a 97-81 rout over the Elasto Painters in Game 6 of the Governors’ Cup best-of-seven finals at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday.
Rain or Shine once held a 3-1 series lead but simply didn’t have the killer instinct to finish off the veteran Llamados, who now have tied the series at three games apiece.
The Painters will have one final chance on Sunday but the problem is momentum has obviously shifted to the B-Meg side.
It will be the second straight time that the Llamados will be playing in a Game 7 in a championship series as they won the Commissioner’s Cup via a grueling seven-game series against the Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters.
James Yap was on top of his game once again, leading the Llamados with 20 points after exploding for 30 markers in their 91-81 Game 5 victory.
Marqus Blake added 19 points, PJ Simon had 16, while Jonas Villanueva donated 11 for the Llamados, who ripped the game apart in the fourth period.
From a slim 73-65 lead, the Llamados practically iced the win with a blistering 11-0 run that saw them erecting a huge 84-65 lead with 6:52 left.
The Painters failed to get over the hump as Yap nailed two three-pointers while Josh Urbiztondo had one in the closing minutes, effectively quelling any Rain or Shine comeback attempt.
Jamelle Cornley paced the Painters with 14 points, while TY Tang and Gabe Norwood had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Tang kept the Painters in the game, scoring eight points in a 14-7 run bridging the third and fourth periods.