Smart-Gilas kept its unblemished record as it survived Rain or Shine last night, 99-94, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
While the Elasto Painters of coach Yeng Guiao has the experience and the skills, the fresher legs and of the nationals, led by Joseph Casio, were more than enough to dominate the end game.
Casio scored 29 points with five 3-pointers, while Marcus Douthit turned in 23 and 18 rebounds for Smart-Gilas Pilipinas, which took the lead for good with a 14-4 run in the last five minutes of the third quarter.
Coming off a disappointing 78-99 loss against Talk N’ Text last Sunday, the Elasto Painters indicated strong signs that this match-up could well end up in their favor.
They got their offense going early, they defended well and kept the score close even with little help from import Hassan Adams, who sat for long stretches in the second half because he was a liability on defense.
Dough Kramer’s putback off a miss by Adams tied the count at 60-all with 5:25 remaining in the third. Then their shooting went sour.
ROS missed 10 of their next 12 shots and the Nationals effectively capitalized on it.
It was the fifth consecutive win for the Nationals, who have remained the only unbeaten team in the import-laced tournament, and effectively secured themselves a spot in the playoffs with their remaining four assignments against struggling teams.
Chris Tiu scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth to cushion the impact of Rain or Shine’s late charge and Christopher Lutz added 10 for the Nationals, who outrebounded the Elasto Painters, 53-49.
Ronjay Buenafe scored 16 points and Kramer had 15 for the Elasto Painters, who missed 14 of 30 free throws. They could have seized the lead in the first half but went 5 of 14 from the line.
Adams and Arana each scored 14 points and Beau Belga added 10 for Rain or Shine, which fell to tie for fourth and fifth spots with idle Barangay Ginebra after picking up their second disappointing loss in five games.
A three-pointer and lay-up by Arana pulled the Rain or Shine to within 71-74 with two minutes into the fourth. But Douthit, who hurt his foot after landing bad late third, completed a 3-pointer 37 second later and Casio, who went 5 of 7 from downtown, knocked his last trey of the night as the Nationals sealed the game, 82-71.*pba.com
0 Comments
