Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Arizona Reid nailed a contested turn-around jumpshot from the baseline with 1.1 seconds left to lift the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to a thrilling 95-94 victory Monday night in the final elimination round game of the PBA Governor's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The pony-tailed import was sizzling hot all game long, tallying 39 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The win was the fifth straight for the Painters who will enter the quarterfinals as the second seed with a 6-3 win-loss card. They will go up against the unpredictable Air21 Express Wednesday. The loss dropped the Mixers to the No. 4 seeding and will be pitted against the fifth seed San Miguel Beermen. Both teams, as well as Alaska (third seed), Barangay Ginebra (sixth seed) and Air21 (seventh seed), all ended the elimination round with a 5-4 slate. The ties were broken through the quotient system. Alaska will go up against Ginebra while top-seeded Talk N Text (7-2) will tangle with the Barako Bull (3-6). The top 4 seeds all enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. Monday night's match was virtually a no-bearing game since both Rain or Shine and San Mig had already qualified for the top 4 spots. As such, San Mig coach Tim Cone limited the playing time of his veteran stars ahead of the all-important quarterfinals match Tuesday. Import Marqus Blakely played for less than 25 minutes; Marc Pingris was limited to 20 while PJ Simon and James Yap played 16 and 14 minutes, respectively. Joe Devance settled for 15 minutes on the floor. Nevertheless, San Mig's reserves did not disappoint as the Mixers kept up with the Painters. The Mixers were even ahead, 89-83, midway through the fourth quarter. But then Reid, Gabe Norwood, and Jervy Cruz ignited a 10-0 run as the Painters grabbed the lead, 93-89, with 1:49 remaining. Cone fielded Marqus Blakely to try and steal the win, and the veteran import responded with a three-point play to cut the lead to one point with 35 seconds remaining. After forcing a stop, the Mixers once again scored on a putback by Ronnie Matias off a Blakely miss to regain the lead, 94-93, with three ticks left. When all hope seemed lost, Reid had just enough time to release the ball which dropped cleanly into the hoop as the final buzzer sounded, giving the victory to Rain or Shine. Gabe Norwood scored 12 points for Rain or Shine while Raymond Almazan finished with 10 points, six boards and three blocks. Pingris led San Mig with 15 points and three rebounds. Rookie forward Ian Sangalang had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Simon chipped in with 13 points, while Blakely added 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The two teams both had high shooting averages. The Painters hit 40 of 90 for 44 percent shooting from the field while the Mixers were 36 for 85 for 42 percent. The Painters were deadlier from beyond the three-point arc, hitting 10 of 27 tries for 37 percent. The Mixers, on the other hand, hit only four in 14 tries for 29 percent. The Alaska Aces benefited from Rain or Shine's win as they moved to No. 3 spot in the standings with the twice-to-beat advantage. Had San Mig won, the Aces would have been the fifth seed while the San Miguel Beermen would have been the fourth seed. Games Tuesday: Barako Bull vs. Talk N Text; and San Mig Super Coffee vs. San Miguel Beer.
