James Yap leads Purefoods back to the semifinals by beating Rain or Shine 95-85 in the Do or Die Game 5 at the Araneta Coliseum. Yap contributed 28 points on 11/22 from the field including some acrobatic shots that tore down the defense of the Elasto Painters. Solomon Mercado came up with 23 points but could not lead Rain or Shine to a win. Marc Pingris had a monster game with 14 points and 16 rebounds leading Purefoods in rebounding 48-37.

The Best of 7 semifinals between Purefoods and San Miguel will start on Wednesday.

In the other series, Talk N Text played Game 5 after a walkout in Game 4 but bowed down to Barangay Ginebra. Ginebra will play Alaska Aces in the other best of 7 semifinal match up.

Game scores:

Purefoods 95 – Yap J. 28, Raymundo 16, Yap R. 16, Pingris 14, Reavis 9, Maierhofer 4, Allado 4, Artadi 2, Simon 2, Canaleta 0.

Rain or Shine 85 – Mercado 23, Norwood 20, Reyes 9, Chan 8, Arana 7, Cruz 6, Laure 6, Telan 4, Tang 2, Arellano 0, Hrabak 0.

Quarters: 25-26, 50-47, 80-66, 95-85.

Rain or Shine ties their best of 5 series with Purefoods, 103-100 but not without a fight from the Giants who were down by 20 and led 100-98 with still a minute remaining in the game. After committing a big foul on James Yap in Game 2 to give Purefoods the win, Eddie Laure who is now the hero in Game 4 after a big 3 point shot that gave Rain or Shine the lead 101-100. In the next possession, Purefoods had a turnover and fouled Jeff Chan who nailed both free throws.

Team Captain Kerby Raymundo who missed the last game because of an injury, came back with 34 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists with four 3 pointers in the 4th quarter to lead Purefoods comeback, but he missed a 3 pointer at the last second to let Rain or Shine force game 5, James Yap was limited to only 8 points and Rico Maierhofer missed his second straight game due to an injury.

Sol Mercado and Gabe Norwood led Rain or Shine with 24 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists respectively.

In the other Quarterfinals series, Talk N Text walked out of the game in the 1st quarter after a Flagrant 2 foul was called on Ranidel de Ocampo, giving Ginebra the win and forcing a game 5 also. Game 5 will be at the Araneta Coliseum tomorrow, Sunday.

Game scores:

Rain or Shine 103 – Mercado 24, Norwood 20, Arana 11, Cruz 10, Reyes 10, Hrabak 9, Telan 7, Laure 6, Chan 4, Tang 2, Ibanes 0.

Purefoods 100 – Raymundo 34, Pingris 20, Yap R. 19, Reavis 10, Yap J. 8, Canaleta 5, Salvador 3, Artadi 1, Timberlake 0, Simon 0, Adducul 0, Allado 0. Quarterscores: 31-15, 50-39, 85-68, 103-100

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants hopes to end their best of 5 series vs Rain or Shine tonight and setup a semifinals match with San Miguel Beermen. Kerby Raymundo and Rico Maierhofer, both did not play in Game 3 due to injuries hopes to give Purefoods more height and versatility to close out the series.

Good luck Purefoods!

Rain or Shine takes Game 3, 95-90 to stay alive on their best of 5 Quarterfinals series vs Purefoods TJ Giants. Purefoods missed the chance to end the series but almost made a comeback in the final minutes of the ballgame. Nino Canaleta led Purefoods with 18 points while James Yap had 17 points but had a bad shooting game going 6 out of 20 from 2 and 0 for 8 from three point range.

Kerby Raymundo and Rico Maierhofer did not play due to injuries sustained in Game 2. PJ Simon still has not played in ths series due to an injury also. Jeff Chan led Rain or Shine with 17 points with 4 3 pointers in the fourth quarter.

In the other quarterfinal series, Ginebra stays alive by beating Talk N Text.

Game 4 between Purefoods and Rain or Shine will be held on Feb 5, 7:30pm at the Araneta Coliseum

Game scores:

Rain or Shine 95 – Chan 17, Norwod 16, Hrabak 15, Mercado 11, Tang 10, Arana 8, Laure 7, Telan 5, Cruz 4, Reyes 2, Ibanes 0.

Purefoods 92 – Canaleta 18, Yap J. 17, Yap R. 17, Artadi 14, Reavis 13, Pingris 9, Fernandez 2, Adducul 1, Allado 1, Timberlake 0, Salvador 0.

Quarterscores: 29-25, 50-49, 68-72, 95-92.

Purefoods will try to make it 3-0 in their best of 5 quarterfinals vs Rain or Shine today Feb 3 at the Araneta Coliseum to setup a semifinal series vs San Miguel Beermen. All eyes will be on James and Roger Yap, who both carried Purefoods to both wins vs Rain or Shine.

In the other series, Talk N Text will also try to sweep Barangay Ginebra today and setup a match between Alaska Aces in the Final Four PBA Semifinals.

Good luck to Purefoods TJ Giants!

Purefoods TJ Giants wins Game 2 of their best of 5 Quarterfinals series with Rain or Shine and leads the series 2-0 after a big comeback – coming down from a 20 point deficit in the third quarter. James Yap came away with 2 clutch free throw in the final seconds of the game to seal the win for the Giants, but it was Roger Yap who orchestrated their comeback scoring 20 of his 22 points in the second half.

Rain or Shine controlled the first half, with Sol Mercado coming back from a subpar performance in their first game, he scored 26 points in game 2 but could not lead Rain or Shine to a win vs. Purefoods.

In the other Quarterfinals series between Barangay Ginebra vs. Talk N Text, the tropang Texters also takes a 2-0 lead over Ginebra.

Game scores:

Purefoods 95 – Yap J. 23, Yap R. 22, Maierhofer 14, Raymundo 11, Artadi 10, Canaleta 9, Reavis 6, Timberlake 0, Pingris 0, Alaldo 0.

Rain or Shine 94 – Mercado 26, Norwood 22, Chan 19, Hrabak 12, Reyes 7, Arana 5, Laure 3, Arellano 0, Ibanes 0, Telan 0.

Quarterscores: 17-26; 41-52; 71-76; 95-94

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants takes Game 1 of their Best of 5 quarterfinals series versus Rain or Shine, 90-85. It was a close game up to the finish, with Purefoods making crucial stops during the last 2 minutes to take a 1-0 lead. James Yap led Purefoods with 31 points, making 12 out of 21 attempts and 3 out of 5 from three point line, but it was the defense of Roger Yap which sealed the game with a crucial steal from Sol Mercado which nearly became ugly due to Mercado clinging on to Yaps Jersey on the said play.

Team Captain Kerby Raymundo contributed 12 points but had 2 crucial misses down the stretch and Rookie of the Year candidate Rico Maierhofer had 9 points. Ryan Arana led Rain or Shine with 19 points and their best player for the last few games Sol Mercado was limited to only 17 points.

Game scores:

Purefoods 90 – Yap J. 31, Yap R. 17, Raymundo 12, Maierhofer 9, Pingris 6, Reavis 5, Artadi 4, Canaleta 2, Adducul 2, Allado 2, Timberlake 0.

Rain or Shine 85 – Arana 19, Mercado 17, Laure 16, Norwood 12, Telan 9, Reyes 4, Chan 3, Hrabak 3, Ibanes 2, Cruz 0, Alfad 0, Arellano 0.

Quarterscores: 23-22, 51-48, 73-73, 90-85.

Rain or Shine takes the last quarterfinals seat by beating Sta Lucia then the Coca Cola Tigers in the Wild Card Phase and books a best of 5 match with Purefoods TJ Giants at the Araneta Coliseum tomorrow at 5pm.

Purefoods vs Rain or Shine in the Elimination Phase

1st Match – November 15
Purefoods TJ Giants (103) vs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (69)
Top Scorer: Rico Maierhofer (15pts) - Recap

2nd Match – January 10
Purefoods TJ Giants (101) vs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (88)
Top Scorer: James Yap (23pts) - Recap

Purefoods beats Rain or Shine twice  in the Elimination phas including a 34 point win on Nov 15 but that was in the early stages of the tournament.

Vote on the Poll on the Left side for your Predictions!

Please continue supporting the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants:)

Nino Canaleta scored 15 points, 14 in the second half to give Purefoods TJ Giants its 10th win in the Philippine Cup over Rain or Shine, 101-88. James Yap and Kerby Raymundo combining for 45 points, but it was the scoring of Canaleta who helped stop Rain or Shines comeback bid.

Last years Rookie of the Year Gabe Norwood led Rain or Shine with 29 points.

Scores:

Purefoods 101 – Yap J. 23, Raymundo 22, Canaleta 15, Yap R. 14, Maierhofer 9, Allado 6, Pingris 5, Artadi 4, Timberlake 3, Reavis 0.

Rain or Shine 88 – Norwood 29, Mercado 20, Chan 12, Hrabak 11, Telan 9, Laure 4, Cruz 2, Arana 1, Alfad 0, Arellano 0, Tang 0, Reyes 0.

Quarterscores: 31-15, 52-35, 75-64, 101-88.

Another great game by leading Rookie of the Year candidate Rico Maierhofer, leading Purefoods TJ Giants to a big 34 point win vs Rain or Shine, 103-69. Rico Maierhofer contributed 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. James Yap and Don Allado both had 14 points to help Purefoods bounce back again from a loss last game vs San Miguel.

A big day today, not only Purefoods winning big, but boxer Manny Pacquiao wins by TKO in the 12th round vs Miguel Cotto.

Scores:

Purefoods 103 – Maierhofer 15, Yap, J. 14, Allado 14, Raymundo 13, Artadi 9, Simon 9, Timberlake 8, Canaleta 7, Pingris 7, Salvador 4, Yap, R. 3, Reavis 0.

Rain or Shine 69 – Arana 20, Norwood 13, Hrabak 11, Mercado 9, Chan 6, Cruz 5, Arellano 2, Reyes 2, Dulay 1.

Quarters: 24-17, 47-31, 71-52, 103-69.