MANILA — Despite playing “ugly basketball,” the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters came from 18 points down to eke out an 80-79 win against the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Wednesday. Even Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao could not understand why they managed to pull out the “W.” “Don't ask me how we won it. We played ugly basketball, but we still won the game,” Guiao said during the interview after the match. Jeff Chan fired 22 points, including two four-point plays, the last of which allowed the Painters to level the score at 77-all with two minutes left. The Painters thus nailed their fourth win in five games to climb to solo second in the standings. The loss dropped the Mixers into a tie with the Alaska Aces at fourth to fifth spot, both with 2-2 win-loss card. San Mig's James Yap led all scorers with 28 points. Ironically, he also triggered his team's meltdown after he was ejected with 2:34 left for hitting Rain or Shine's Jireh Ibanes in the face while the latter was driving to the basket. Ibanes missed the two charities awarded him, but Chan later came up with a scintillating four-point play to tie the game at 77-all. Beau Belga then shattered the deadlock with a three-pointer to give the Painters an 80-77 lead with 1:50 left. San Mig Coffee's P.J. Simon scored on a jumper to cut the deficit to a single point. After J.R. Quinahan missed two free throws in the last five seconds of the game, the Mixers had the chance to snatch back the lead for the win, but Jonas Villanueva's jumper bounced off the rim as time expired, allowing the Painters to preserve their victory. In the first game of the Wednesday double-header, the Talk N Text Tropang Texters employed a crippling defense in the homestretch to win 79-76 against the relentless Barako Bull Energy Cola. Employing a new defensive strategy designed by new TNT head coach Norman Black, the Texters were able to limit the Energy Cola to below 40-percent field goal shooting (31-of-79) for the game.
