DOWN BY 20, NEALY-LED RAIN OR SHINE BEATS AIR21 AT THE BUZZER

(From PBA)

The final offensive rebound fell on the hands of Ryan Arana and the wily guard quickly made the follow-up shot just before time expired to lift Rain or Shine to an incredible 113-111 come-from behind victory against Air 21 Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

It was an incredible turnaround for the Elasto Painters who rallied from a 28-point deficit in the third quarter to stay in contention for an outright quarterfinal berth in the PBA Fiesta Conference.

Rain or Shine turned the game around in the fourth quarter with suffocating defense and Rod Nealy’s timely 3-point shooting. Nealy, who took over from Jai Lewis, eventually finished with a game-high 41 points.

But that man of the hour was clearly Arana, who scored 11 of his 13 points fourth.

With the count tied at 111-111, the Painters worked the ball to Nealy, who misfired a 12-footer with 2.2 seconds remaining. But Arana, who was positioned underneath the basket, beat everyone else to the rebound to grab the loose ball and put it in the nick of time.

The Elasto Painters thus improved to a 8-9 (win-loss) record with their stunning victory. 

“We played lazy for three quarters. But Sol (Mercado), Gabe (Norwood), Ryan (Arana) and Rod refused to give up. For three quarters Leroy Hickerson (Air 21 import) was killing us with his offense but good thing we shut him down in the fourth,” said Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia.

Mercado scored 19 points and Norwood added 15, five assists and four steals for the Elasto Painters, who need to win against Coca-Cola at the close of the classification round on Sunday to arrange a playoff with Barangay Ginebra (9-9) for the last outright quarterfinal berth.

The setback was frustrating for the Express and a bitter pill to swallow for head coach Yeng Guiao and his team.

They already appeared to have a lock on the win when they built a 88-60 advantage 3:55 left in the third.

Then things went wayward in the fourth. They lost their focus on defense and their offense went sour. Hickerson, who finished with 34 points, shot just 2 of 3 in the fourth and didn’t score his first field goal of the period until the last 1:22.

Air21, which closed the classification round with a 4-14 mark, was hoping for a win to secure its place in the wildcard. The Express’ wildcard hopes now depend on a loss by Barako Coffee (3-14) to B-Meg Derby Ace on Sunday.

The Express led 98-88 when Nealy strung three successive treys then fed Norwood, who scored on a two-handed slam to put Rain or Shine ahead, 99-98, with 5:29 to go.

A basket by Billy Mamaril gave Air21 a one point lead but the Elasto Painters scored 12 of the next 15 points, including a three three-point shot each from Mercado, Nealy and Arana, for a 111-105 lead with 1:36 left.

But the Express refused to wilt under pressure and answered with six straight points to tie the count at 111-all with 19 seconds remaining. (DBC)

The scores:

Rain or Shine 113 - Nealy 41, Mercado 19, Norwood 15, Arana 13, Chan 5, Reyes 5, Cruz 4, Laure 4, Tang 2, Ibanes 2, Telan 2,Hrabak 1, Salangsang 0.

Air21 111 - Hickerson 34, Buenafe 21, Ritualo 11, Kramer 10, Alvarez 8, Mamaril 8, Gonzales 7, Williams 4, Belga 4, Matias2, Billones 2, Sharma 0, Arboleda 0.

Quarterscores: 24-34, 52-61, 78-95, 113-111