Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Bucking the loss of their “Lethal Weapon” Paul Lee, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters sizzled for 30 huge points in the third quarter en route to a 93-84 win against the B-Meg Llamados Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Game 3 of the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup Finals. The E-Painters thus gained a pivotal 2-1 edge in the championship series heading into Game 4 Sunday night. Jamelle Cornley led the Rain or Shine onslaught with 26 points on 12-of-19 field goal shooting. He also collected 15 rebounds and five assists. Defense proved to be the key to the Rain or Shine victory as the E-Painters limited B-Meg import Marqus Blakely to 13 points and top gunner James Yap to just seven points. P.J. Simon, another vital cog in the B-Meg offense, also struggled with just four points. From a close 40-38 half-time lead, the E-Painters caught fire in the third quarter, racing to a 70-52 lead coming into the final canto. They continued pouring on the points in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 21 before the Llamados made a desperate run to cut the lead to 10, 65-75. But the E-Painters doused cold water on the rallying Llamados, hitting six straight points to rebuild a 16-point lead. The Llamados made their last-ditch stand, cutting the lead to seven, 89-82, with 55 seconds remaining as Jonas Villanueva drilled back-to-back three-pointers. But Jeff Chan ensured the Rain or Shine won as he cooly sank four charities. Earlier, Rain or Shine's firebrand coach Yeng Guiao brazenly vowed that his team will win the series “with or without Paul (Lee)” after a Game 2 loss to B-Meg that tied their best-of-seven series.
