Rain or Shine rookie Chris Tiu scored a career-best 16 points, 10 of which came in the pivotal fourth quarter as the Elasto Painters extended their winning streak to five with a 103-95 win over Globalport in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The six-foot Tiu shot 5-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-7 from the three-point territory in just 20 minutes of action. With the Painters up by just one, Tiu buried a trey with 1:03 to play to put his team up, 96-92.
Tiu’s heroics came at the right time for Rain or Shine, which blew a 20-point lead (55-35) early in the third quarter after Globalport caught fire, trimming the lead to 73-69 going into the final canto.
The Batang Pier actually got the lead on a three-pointer by Gary David, 89-88, with 4:18 left but Jervy Cruz responded with a short jumper and Gabe Norwood nailed his own trey to make it 93-89, 3:17 to play.
The last time Globalport threatened was when Will Antonio made a triple, 92-93, before Tiu drained that booming triple.
The win improved Rain or Shine’s record at 5-1, assured of solo second as either Alaska or Petron Blaze – playing at presstime with similar 5-1 cards – will take the top spot.
“We really got a scare in the second half. We kind of relaxed when we got the big lead. Lucky for us we hit three-point shots. And Chris Tiu hit some big shot,” said Rain or Shine mentor Yeng Guiao, referring to the former national team mainstay.
Rain or Shine’s 7-foot-3 import Bruno Sundov collected 17 points and 15 rebounds. He was on the bench, though, mostly in the second half after he was hit in the stomach by Sol Mercado.
Cruz and Norwood added 15 and 13 points, respectively.
David led Globalport with 23 points, while Mercado had 18 markers. Willie Miller finished with 13 points, while Jondan Salvador had 11, and Japeth Aguilar had 11 and 10 rebounds for the Batang Pier, who reportedly gave import Justin Williams his release papers.