MANILA — Starting slow but blazing to the finish, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters zipped past the B-Meg Llamados 94-89 Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Game 4 of the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup Finals. The E-Painters are now a game shy of winning the championship with a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Behind by 17 points, 29-12, toward the end of the first quarter, the E-Painters stepped on the gas the rest of the way to take command of the game. Reserve players JR Quinahan and TY Tang played huge roles as they scored a barrage of three-pointers to ignite a second quarter Rain or Shine charge, enabling the E-Painters to take a 47-45 halftime lead. Like in Game 3, the E-Painters missed the steady playmaking and hot hands of star rookie guard Paul Lee who is expected to be out of the series with an aggravated shoulder injury he suffered in Game 2. But instead of losing heart without their starting point guard, the E-Painters rained more fire on the stunned Llamados. Import Jamelle Cornley once again mightily asserted his game-long brilliance with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. The two teams fought tooth and nail in the fourth quarter before Rain or Shine made a run to take an 88-81 lead with a Gabe Norwood triple, less than four minutes left. Norwood finished with 18 points, including three triples, four rebounds and two assists. The Llamados tried to spark a rally, coming to within three points on a Yancy De Ocampo put-back, 90-87, under a minute left to play. But Ronjay Buenafe cooly sank two charities, with 38.3 left. The five-point lead was too much for the Llamados to overcome with such little time left as they suffered their second straight and third loss in the Finals. James Yap top scored for B-Meg with 25 points. Before the match, Barangay Ginebra King Mark “The Spark” Caguioa was awarded the 2011-12 Most Valuable Player honors in this season's Leo Awards ceremony. Caguioa was also named to the First Mythical Team, alongside three other MVP candidates, namely Gary David of the Powerade Tigers, Arwind Santos of the Petron Blaze Boosters, and James Yap of the B-MEG Llamados. Talk N Text Tropang Texter Ranidel De Ocampo completed the first five. Meanwhile, the Second Mythical Team comprises Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams of the Talk N Text, Paul Lee and Jeff Chan of Rain or Shine, and Sonny Thoss of Alaska. Lee, the second overall 2011 draft pick, also took the Rookie of the Year award, while Chan was named the Most Improved Player. The All-Defensive Team was formed by Santos of Petron Blaze, Doug Kramer of the Barako Bull Energy, Jireh Ibanes of Rain or Shine, Ryan Reyes of Talk N Text and Marc Pingris of B-Meg. The first overall pick in the 2011 draft, Jayvee Casio, won the Sportsmanship Award.
