MANILA – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters squandered an early lead before erasing a double-digit deficit to beat San Miguel Beermen 123-119 in overtime in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Reginald Johnson led Painters with double-double 27 points and 19 rebounds while Raymond Almazan had 25 points and 14 markers.
Chris Tiu and Maverick Ahanmisi had 16 points each for Rain or Shine (4-1) to claim the solo No. 1 spot after the Sunday night game at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Painters had a strong start and went up by as much as 12 points on inside hits by Johnson but Beermen, behind Christian Standhardinger, turned things around and built its largest lead 68-51.
Rain or Shine made a run in the fourth behind Tiu and Almazan to take a 102-100 lead on back-to-back triples by Gabe Norwood. Both teams exchanged leads before Beermen forced overtime on an Alex Cabagnot layup.
In OT, Painters surged 118-112 on a triple by Norwood and three free throws by Almazan. Beermen rallied to within 3 on a triple by Marcio Lassiter but consecutive points by Almazan sealed the win for Painters.
Arwind Santos had 29 points, June Mar Fajardo had double-double 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Standhardinger bounced back from a subpar debut with 17 points for Beermen (0-2).
It could be the last game for import Troy Gillenwater, who finished with just 11 points in 13 minutes after getting ejected late in the second quarter for intentionally bumping the referee.
In the first game, Alaska Aces displayed its offensive and defensive might to cruise to its third consecutive victory by dealing TNT KaTropa its first defeat the conference 110-100.
Aces got things going in the first quarter with consecutive points from Anthony Campbell for a 34-26 lead. It continued to swell in the second period behind Manuel for a 59-43 halftime edge.
Aces went on to build its largest lead in the second half 92-67 after a basket from Manuel before KaTropa trimmed the final margin on consecutive triples.
Manuel led Aces with double-double 29 points and 12 rebounds. Campbell had 23 points and 20 boards while Jvee Casio contributed 10 points for Aces to tie with KaTropa (3-1)./PN
