Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Jeff Chan buried a clutch three-pointer, stole the ball and then zipped through the length of the court for an easy layup with 4.9 seconds left to lift the number one seed Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to a thrilling 92-91 victory over the eighth seed Barangay Ginebra Kings Saturday night at the Mall of Asia Arena. Rain or Shine thus advances to the best-of-three semifinals of the PBA Commissioner's Cup against the winner of the Meralco versus NLEX quarterfinals series. Chan's late-game heroics sent the Kings to early retirement as they suffered another late-game collapse leading to another heart-breaking defeat. Chan, who had been struggling with his shots all conference long, finished with 17 points. After Chan gave Rain or Shine a one-point lead with his last shot, the Kings still had a chance to steal the game and force a sudden-death match but Jayjay Helterbrand let loose a desperation shot that was way off the mark to the dismay of thousands of Ginebra fans. Sophomore center Raymond Almazan also starred for Rain or Shine, nailing 12 of his 17 points total in the fourth quarter and holding his own against Ginebra's triple towers of Greg Slaughter, Japeth Aguilar and Michael Dunigan. ROS import Wayne Chism also scored 17 points. Rain or Shine won despite having a lower 34 percent shooting percentage than Ginebra's 42 percent. The Painters also lost big-time in the rebound battle, 49-69. But the Kings' league-high 30 turnovers spelled the biggest difference in the game. Dunigan, Ginebra's import, also played a lackluster game, finishing with a conference-low 11 points on a horrible 4-of-13 shooting from the field, while committing numerous turnovers and grabbing just eight rebounds. Making up for Dunigan's woes was the sterling performance of Greg Slaughter who scored a personal conference-high 26 points on top of 16 rebounds and three blocks. Japeth Aguilar and Mark Caguioa also played solidly, adding 14 points apiece. Talk N Text 127, Barako Bull 97 The No. 2 seed Talk N Text Tropang Texters entered the court with all guns ablaze to oust the Barako Bull Energy, 127-97, thus advancing to the semifinals against the winner of the Purefoods versus Alaska quarterfinals series. TNT import Ivan Johnson sizzled for 35 points, 30 of them in the first half alone. Jayson Castro was likewise on fire, knocking down his first seven shots, including four three-pointers, to finish with 18 points on top of seven assists for the Texters. Ranidel De Ocampo, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Larry Fonacier also waxed hot all night long, with Ocampo firing away with 16 points and eight rebounds. Ganuelas-Rosser added 12 points while Fonacier chipped in with 10 points. The Texters' offensive game was so hot that they piled up 45 points just in the first quarter alone as Johnson and Castro punctured the hoops with monotonous regularity. The Texters broke the 100-point mark with still over a minute remaining in the third period as they coasted to victory. Games Sunday: Purefoods Star Hotshots vs. Alaska Aces; Meralco Bolts vs. NLEX Road Warriors.
