Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Underrated import Wayne Chism finally showed menacing form as he led the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to a hard-fought 105-101 overtime victory over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in the final elimination round game of the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Outshone by Ginebra's new import, the fiery Gabe Freeman, in the first half, Chism saved his best for last as he scored two huge baskets and had one key block over Ginebra's Greg Slaughter in overtime to send the Kings to their sixth loss in nine outings. The Kings could have secured the number sixth seeding in the playoffs had they won. The loss dropped them to No. 8, the last seeding, where they face the undefeated top-seed Talk N Text Tropang Texters (9-0) who are armed with a twice-to-beat advantage. The other Final Eight pairings will have second-seeded San Miguel Beermen enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage over seventh seed Air21 Express, third seed Alaska Aces taking on sixth seed San Mig Super Coffee Mixers in a best-of-three quarterfinals, and fourth seed Rain or Shine Elasto Painters going up against the fifth seed Meralco Bolts in a best-of-three series. Chism finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. Paul Lee chipped in 25 points, four rebounds and six assists for the Painters. Belga and Jervy Cruz added 10 points apiece. Slaughter tallied 22 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks for Ginebra while Freeman, who replaced Josh Powell, finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds. Veterans Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand added 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Kings. Alaska 85, San Mig Super Coffee 66 The resurgent Alaska Aces scored an easy 85-66 victory over the slumping San Mig Super Coffee Mixers in the first match of the Sunday double-header. It was Alaska's fifth straight victory as the Aces ended the elimination round as the third seed with a 6-3 win-loss card. The Mixers played minus four injured key players — import James Mays, stars James Yap and Marc Pingris, and rookie sensation Justin Melton. San Mig Coffee finished with a 4-5 card, its worst elimination round record under coach Tim Cone, as it ended up as the sixth seed. The two teams will meet again on Monday to start their best-of-three quarterfinals series. Games Monday: Meralco vs. Rain or Shine (Game 1 of best-of-3 quarters) and San Mig Coffee vs. Alaska (Game 1 of best-of-3 quarters).
