Sunday, March 26, 2006

Rain or Shine 70, Harbour Centre 64

Leo Austria made a succesful return on the PBL sidelines to lead the defending champion Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to a 70-64 victory over Harbour Centre in the second game of the 2006 PBL Unity Cup at the La Salle Greenhills Gym.

Austria got solid games from regulars from Marvin Ortiguerra and Junjun Cabatu as the Elasto Painters avoided a furious comeback by the Portmasters in the final minutes to secure their first win in the tournament.

Trailing 33-37 at the half, Rain or Shine got off on a hot start in the third quarter with seven unanswered points to take the lead for good 40-37 before taking a 45-41 lead heading into the final canto.

A strong start led to a Rain or Shine's biggest lead at 53-43 before the Portmasters made a comeback in the last minute, as they put Jojo Tangkay and Erwin Sta Maria on the bench after fouling out.

L.A. Tenorio's three with 2:44 left put the Portmasters behind only at 56-53. After a string of back and forth baskets, Ronjay Enrile's triple put Rain or Shine's lead at six at 63-57 with 41 ticks to go.

The finals seconds became a free-throw shooting exhibition for Rain or Shine despite the leading being reduced to 65-62 on Joseph Yeo's triple with 20 seconds remaining.

It was Austria's first win in the PBL since 2004, when he left the Welbest franchise to coach the now-defunct Shell Turbo Chargers in the PBA. The former PBA Rookie of Year made his return as coach as preparation for the team's entry in the pro league next season.

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