Rain or Shine exploded for 35 points in the third quarter to erase an 11-point halftime deficit and walk away with a 114-97 win over Powerade in Game One of the best-of-seven semifinal series of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Rookie Paul Lee anchored the Elasto Painters’ sizzling second half as he unloaded 22 of his personal-high 25 points after the break to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Jeff Chan fired a team-high 27 points, one shy of matching his career-high to lead Rain or Shine, which trailed by as much as 15 points in the game.

CAN’T really blame the Powerade Tigers if they’ll make the most out of their stint in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series. 

The Tigers haven’t been this deep into the playoffs since the 2004 Fiesta Conference, when the team was then still known as Coca-Cola and their star player, hotshot Gary David, was about to embark yet on a colorful pro career. 

Curiously, it was David, picked 10th overall by the Tigers during that season’s Rookie Draft, who’s chiefly responsible for all of this.

GARY David never backs down from any challenge, especially one directed at the Powerade team which considers him as its leader. 

David showcased this in the week that was, coming up with back-to-back 30-plus games that not only lifted the Tigers over a dreaded foe and into the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup, but also another Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week citation for himself. 

It was the third such honor given for David in the season-opening conference and he became the scribes' hands-down choice after he averaged an astounding 34.5 points in the two-game quarterfinals duel with top seed B-MEG.

“It was a championship feeling,” said Powerade governor JB Baylon. “You won’t believe what we are going through.”

Behind the sizzling hands of Gary David, the Powerade Tigers turned what appeared to be another forgettable campaign into one that would be etched in people’s minds, becoming just the third No. 8 seed to topple a top-ranked team in the PBA quarterfinals. With two victories over the heavily-favored B-MEG Llamados, Powerade made it to the semifinals of a PBA tournament for the first time since 2004.

And the Tigers did it in style, rallying back from 17 points down to defeat B-MEG in an overtime thriller in the second game of the series.

DESPITE what he deemed as an affront to his team Gary David seemed intent on just coasting along Sunday evening. 

Then came an incident that banished a teammate and fired him up for good. 

The result was David exploding for 37 points, lifting Powerade past B-MEG for the second straight game 131-123 in overtime to crash the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.  

David scattered 23 of his points in the fourth period and overtime to lead the Tigers' charge from being No. 8 at the end of eliminations and past the top-seeded Lllamados to arrange a best-of-seven semis duel with either Barangay Ginebra or Rain or Shine.

Welcome to the Gary David Show.

David erupted for 37 points, highlighted by eight three-pointers, to lead Powerade to a classic 131-123 overtime win to knock off No. 1 seed B-MEG in the quarterfinals of the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Picking up from where he left off in his team’s 97-88 win in the first game, David played like a man possessed in the last 17 minutes of the match, hitting one big shot after another as the Tigers repeated their unbelievable performance against the heavily-favored Llamados.

Powerade tries to complete a gigantic upset against top seed B-MEG as they square off in a knockout game in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Tigers eye their second win in the row against the Llamados in the lone game at 6 p.m. to be just the third team in the history of the PBA playoffs to dislodge a No. 1 ranked team.

“After the win, there are no doubts in the minds of the players we can compete against B-MEG,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol, whose team forced a do-or-die game with a 97-88 win last Wednesday.

B-Meg coach Tim Cone insists their twice-to-beat advantage over Powerade in their PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals match-up is not a sure ticket to the next round. 

Cone considers Powerade a threat that can be very dangerous if his B-Meg Llamados don’t do their job. 

The Llamados, the elimination round topnotchers, take their first of two cracks at the semifinals in taking on the Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

“We’ll have to be sharp right at the get-go. In a short series like this, there’s a very little margin for error,” said Cone.

Powerade got the win it needed in preparation for a tough assignment in the quarterfinals as it toppled Barako Bull, 99-95, to end its elimination round campaign with a 6-8 mark in the 2011-12 PBA Philippine Cup Tuesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Already tasked to face one of the top two teams in the quarterfinals, the Tigers showed that they knew how to win in the tight game as they came up with clutch plays in the endgame.

Published on December 2, 2011

MERALCO is safely in the playoffs. So why risk injuries to players by playing hard, right? Wrong. 

The Bolts came out with the same passion and intensity of a ballclub hanging on for its dear life, making the key defensive stops down the stretch in overcoming Powerade Friday night, 100-98, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. 

 Sol Mercado scored 23 points and Gabby Espinas collected 14 points, 11 rebounds and two critical blocks in the fourth quarter as Meralco eclipsed the seven victories it posted in its maiden tournament – the Philippine Cup – last season.