Rookie Paul Lee shows off on opening day, leads Rain or Shine to victory over Ginebra

Prized rookie Paul Lee churned in an incredible debut but the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters still needed to withstand a major fightback by the Barangay Ginebra Kings before escaping with a pulsating 94-93 win at the start of the 37th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

Lee, the second overall pick in the Rookie Draft, showed what he’s got by tallying 21 points laced by eight rebounds and five boards.

But Lee’s impressive showing nearly went to naught when the Kings staged a major uprising in the homestretch. The Painters threatened to rip the game apart when they posted an 87-71 lead in the final 7:42.

Just when everybody thought that they were ready to raise the white flag, the Kings suddenly came to life anchored on John Wilson and Roberts Labagala, who were interestingly used in favor of top guns Mark Caguioa and Jay-Jay Helterbrand.

Labagala and Wilson quickly made their presence felt as the duo, along with JC Intal, sparked a mighty comeback that saw the Kings threaten at 91-93 with 41.9 seconds left.

Ginebra’s comeback was aided by Rain or Shine’s erratic endgame plays, committing two straight errors in the last 50 seconds.

The Kings, however, failed to capitalize on the Painters’ last error as Wilson missed a mid-range jumper with 20 seconds left. Jeffrie Chan made one of two free throws, giving Rain or Shine a 94-91 lead with 20.9 ticks left.

Things became more interesting when Intal was fouled by JR Quiñahan while attempting an off-balanced three-point shot with only 1.3 seconds left in the clock.  Intal made the first two free throws before missing the next attempt. Wilson got the offensive rebound but missed a decent point-blank range as time ran out.

Chan, Gabe Norwood and Ronjay Buenafe backed Lee with 18, 11 and 10 markers, respectively.

Intal led the Kings with 16 points while Caguioa and Helertbrand added 16 and 11, respectively.