MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine took a 2-1 lead over B-Meg Derby Ace in Game 3 of their 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-5 quarterfinals showdown on Wednesday after posting a 117-111 overtime win at the Araneta Coliseum.

Former MVP James Yap showed he was unaffected by his marital woes to Kris Aquino, scoring a conference-high 34 points, but it was not enough to save the Llamados from the Elasto Painters’ balanced attack.

Solomon Mercado scored 16 points and 15 assists for Rain or Shine which took a step closer to the Final 4, a semifinals face-off with defending champion San Miguel Beermen.

Mercado said his team came in with a lot of heart in warding off the Llamados’ final quarter push that sent the game to overtime 102-all.

“We got rookies like Jervy Cruz coming in, stepping up big and showing a lot of heart,” said the Fil-American.

Solomon said his team hopes to carry the momentum to Game 4 and eventually head to the semifinals.

“We can’t stop now,” he said. “We got one more game.”

Although Rain or Shine was ahead in the first 2 quarters, B-Meg gave it a good fight in the next 2.

The Llamados will have to score 2 wins to surge ahead of the Elasto Painters into the semifinal round.