Jeff Chan redeemed himself with a crucial defensive stop and Ryan Arana made two free throws in the
closing seconds that lifted Rain or Shine to an 80-79 come-from-behind victory against Alaska in
their rematch Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Trailing 78-79, all seemed lost for the Elasto Painters when Chan lost the ball on the baseline
while trying to set up Gabe Norwood on an alley-hoop pass with 25 seconds to play.

But the 5-foot-11 shooting guard quickly atoned for that crucial blunder with a tough defense that
forced Alaska superstar guard L.A. Tenorio to commit an eight-second backcourt violation and paved
the way for Arana’s heroics.

After a timeout, Rain or Shine went to Norwood, who dribbled away some seconds away before feeding
Arana, who sliced through the lane and scooped up a shot in heavy traffic, in the process getting
fouled by Tenorio with 6.6 seconds remaining.

The wily guard calmly made both his throws to put the Painters ahead, 80-79.

“We’re just lucky. The breaks went our way in the closing seconds,” offered Rain or Shine
head coach Caloy Garcia during the post-game interview.

Over the last 5:52, the Elasto Painters outscored Alaska, 10-0.

Alaska, which won their first meeting 88-80 last Oct. 15, had several chances to reverse the
outcome but missed on three attempts – two by Cyrus Baguio and one by Joe Devance as time expired.

“I told the players the only way to beat Alaska is through defense. I’m glad the players
responded,” Garcia said.

Norwood led Rain or Shine with 17 points and had three steals while rookie RJ Jazul added 16 and
Arana accounted for 13 to lead an impressive performance by the Elasto Painters’ reserves.

Sol Mercado showed up but didn’t play because the sprain in his left foot was still hurting.

By splitting their two-game schedule against the Alaska, Rain or Shine improved to a 5-5 win-loss
record and moved up to fifth spot in a tie with idle Meralco.

Mark Borboran came off the bench and showed the way for Alaska with a career-high 19 points while
Devance (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Sonny Thoss (16 points, 11 rebounds) had double-double efforts
but their splendid performances went for naught.

Tenorio typified Alaska’s harrowing experience, going scoreless in 34 minutes on a 0-of- 6
shooting and had just two assists. The last time Tenerio had a big fat zero was during Game 3 of the
2008-09 Philippine Cup Finals versus Talk 'N Text, or 94 games ago.

It was a jolting defeat for Alaska coach Tim Cone and his Aces as they appeared to have the game
all wrapped up after Borboran scored and gave Alaska a 79-70 lead with 5:52 to play in the fourth.

But poor shooting spoiled their efforts. The Aces went 0 of 10 from the field and committed four
turnovers the rest of the way in another nightmare ending where they were outscored in the fourth
quarter for the 11th time in their 12 games.

The lost was the second straight, third in the last four and seventh in the last nine games for the
Aces, who are in danger of landing at 7th or 8th spots at the end of the elimination round. (DBC)

The scores:

Rain or Shine 80 - Norwood 17, Jazul 16, Arana 13, Tang 9, Rodriguez 5, Reyes 5, Kramer 4, Ibanes
4, Vanlandingham 3, Cruz 2, Ferriols 2, Chan 0.

Alaska 79 - Borboran 19,De Vance 17, Thoss 16, Baguio 10, Dela Cruz 8, Custodio 6, Eman 3, Tenorio
0.

Quarterscores: 13-12, 40-38, 61-67, 80-79