RAIN or Shine’s road to atonement just got off on the right foot — thanks to Rey Nambatac.
Nambatac boomed in a dagger of a triple in the last two seconds, lifting the Elasto Painters to an 86-83 victory over defending champion San Miguel Beer last night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center in Angeles City.
Nambatac recovered the loose ball and promptly launched a straightaway 3 for his only field goal of the game and, more important, gave Rain or Shine an 85-81 lead.
That proved to be the final nail in the coffin for SMB, with Javee Mocon insuring the win and preserving his game-best 25 points with a pair of free throws, only 1.4 ticks to go.
It also put Rain or Shine on track of bouncing back from a ninth-place finish in the last Governors Cup and enabled coach Caloy Garcia to heave a big sigh of relief. — Noli Cortez
