Elasto Painters rise late, take Game 1 vs. Beermen

Rain or Shine came on strong down the stretch to beat San Miguel. KC Cruz

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters overcame an 18-point deficit to earn a 98-94 victory over the San Miguel Beermen to take Game 1 of their best-of-five semifinals series in the PBA Commissioners Cup on Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

A Jeff Chan trey with 1:03 left put Rain or Shine ahad, 95-94, as a Tyler Wilkerson turnover put Maverick Ahanmisi on the line. Ahanmisi nailed two free throws, while an Arwind Santos miss from deep led to two more Ahanmisi charities to secure the win.

"It's just one of those comebacks that will linger in your memory," said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao after the game. "I almost gave up on the guys but the guys did not give up on me. They proved their coach wrong. As great as their import [Wilkerson] was playing, as great as June Mar [Fajardo] was playing, we pulled out a win."

Maverick Ahanmisi had 23 points, nine boards, and four assists to lead the Elasto Painter, while Pierre Henderson-Niles tallied 13 points and nine boards. Jericho Cruz and Jeff Chan chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Wilkerson carried San Miguel with 40 points, while Fajardo chipped in 23 more. Alex Cabagnot was the only other SMB player in double figures with 15, while the bench contributed just 10. Marcio Lassiter and Ronald Tubid struggled for just three points each off a combined 2 of 13 shooting clip. — RSJ/JST, GMA News