By Adrian Stewart Co

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters handed the Phoenix Fuel Masters their first loss following a 98-94 overtime win in the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With both teams knotted at 92 apiece, the Painters broke the deadlock with a two-pointer from Rey Nambatac and two free throws from Raymond Almazan for a 96-92 edge.

The Fuel Masters made it a single possession game on a basket from Alex Mallari but the Painters countered with a twinner from Mark Borboran to ice the win with 12 seconds left in the game.

Kris Rosales and Beau Belga led the way for Rain or Shine with 16 points each, while Maverick Ahanmisi and Raymond Almazan added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

With the win, the Painters surged to solo first place with a 6-1 record.

The Painters were on top for most part of the game and even led by as much as 14 points but gutsy plays by the Fuel Masters, particularly from Jason Perkins, sent the game into overtime.

Perkins finished the game with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Calvin Abueva and Alex Mallari tallied 16 markers each./ASC, WDJ