Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Import Wendell McKines exploded with a career-high 57 points to lead the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to a smashing 113-110 come-from-behind victory over the San Miguel Beermen Saturday night in Game 2 of their PBA Governors' Cup semifinal series. The undersized import, standing at just 6'4”, also finished with 17 rebounds, five assists and five blocks as the Painters came back from a 20-point hole to level the best-of-five series at 1-all. Jeff Chan was the other big star for Rain or Shine as the veteran gunner nailed the game-winning three-pointer with 7.6 seconds left. ROS virtually duplicated the kind of victory SMB won in Game 1 of the series when the Beermen came back from a 24-point deficit to win the series opener last Thursday. In Game 2, the Painters trailed, 76-56, in the third quarter, as SMB's three-point bombs kept hitting the mark. When it seemed all was lost for the Painters, the game suddenly took a different and surprising turn when ROS came roaring back, outscoring SMB, 36-21, in the final quarter. With a minute left, ROS' Gabe Norwood scored on a jumper to knot the score at 110-all. McKines then stole the ball from his SMB counterpart Arizona Reid, passing it to Chan who drilled the go-ahead basket. SMB called a timeout, but this didn't help as the Painters' defense forced Alex Cabagnot to make an awkward three-point attempt from the right corner that clanked out as time expired. ROS head coach Yeng Guiao was ecstatic after the game, saying that was “the best comebacks I've ever coached.” The Beermen earlier pummelled the Painters with long-range bombs, hitting 21 of 25 three-point shots. Marcio Lassiter was the hottest Beerman, sinking 10 of 13 three-point tries while Reid was 7-of-11. Lassiter's last triple gave him a career-high 31 points as SMB led, 110-104, with 3:12. Reid finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds while June Mar Fajardo added 15 markers and nine rebounds. Arwind Santos chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort for SMB. Only two other Painters scored in double digits, with JR Quinahan's 11 points and Jireh Ibanes' 10. Top ROS gunner Paul Lee was held to nine points and Chan finished with six, including the game-winning triple. Meanwhile, Barako Bull traded guard Joseph Yeo to Globalport in exchange for a first round pick in the 2016 PBA Draft. Yeo was drafted by Coca-Cola in 2006 before joining Sta. Lucia, San Miguel/Petron Blaze, Air21, Barangay Ginebra, and Barako Bull, where he played for just one conference after being dealt from Ginebra for Sol Mercado. He will join GlobalPort, a team already teeming with guards such as Terrence Romeo, Ronjay Buenafe and Stanley Pringle. The trade comes a day after Barako acquired Brian Heruela from Blackwater in exchange for guard Carlo Lastimosa. Game Sunday: Alaska Aces vs. Star Hotshots (Game 3, best-of-5 semifinals; Alaska leads 2-0).
