Jan Ballesteros 6y

James Yap, Reggie Johnson shine as Rain or Shine moves on to semis

Rain or Shine looked on its way to squandering another huge lead but hung tough for a thrilling 103-97 win over GlobalPort in the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Elasto Painters, who blew a 16-point buffer to drop their first encounter in the playoffs that forced the do-or-die on Thursday, preserved their lead this time to eliminate the Batang Pier and complete the semifinal cast.

The Elasto Painters will face Ginebra in the best-of-five affair in the penultimate stage of the mid-season conference which starts on Saturday.

Import Reggie Johnson and James Yap did most of the damage for the Elasto Painters, who will return to the semifinals for the first time since winning the championship in the same conference two years ago under then coach Yeng Guiao.

Johnson put up 29 points, none bigger than the quick two with 52.8 ticks remaining that shattered GlobalPort's hopes for a comeback from a 16-point hole, 101-94. He also hauled down 15 rebounds.

Stanley Pringle tried to will his team back from the dead and uncorked a triple in the ensuing play to come to within four, 97-101. But things didn't go their way, with Gabe Norwood sealing the win with a pair of freebies with 20 ticks remaining.

Yap, meanwhile, played his best game in four season, making 7-of-10 from the rainbow country to finish with 27 points to go with five rebounds and a steal.

He made back-to-back treys early in the fourth period to give the Elasto Painters a comfortable 86-70 lead.

Raymond Almazan also proved to be vital in the win, scoring seven straight points capped by a fade away ala Dirk Nowitzki after the Batang Pier sliced the lead to eight.

GlobalPort tried to turn things around, employing a full court press that allowed them to convert seven points to come to within four. But the Elasto Painters held their fort and escaped with the victory.

Pringle paced GlobalPort with 23 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and two steals. Pao Javelona had 18 points, while Malcolm White added 12 points and 10 rebounds in a foul-plagued outing.

THE SCORES

Rain or Shine 103 - Johnson 29, Yap 27, Almazan 16, Tiu 12, Norwood 7, Belga 7, Ponferada 3, Daquioag 2, Ahanmisi 0, Borboran 0.

GlobalPort 97 - Pringle 23, Javelona 18, White 12, Grey 10, Anthony 10, Taha 6, Teng 3, Espinas 2, Elorde 2, Guinto 2.

Quarterscores: 24-22, 46-38, 75-67, 103-97

EXTRA DRIBBLES

Stanley Pringle looked like he sprained his right ankle in the last five minutes of action. But he shrugged it off and played on.

Malcolm White was saddled with foul trouble the whole game. He was called forhis fourth foul with 4:19 left in the first half.

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