Adrian Nocum sparked the breakaway as Rain or Shine frustrated Blackwater, 120-106, to regain its winning ways in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Wednesday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The slashing guard poured 23 points, eight of which he made in the final frame as he helped put together the Elasto Painters’ strong finish toward completing the comeback after being down by as many as nine late in the first half.
He practically took over after Caelan Tiongson put them ahead for good following a split from the line, scoring off an offensive board and a strong drive to the cup to push their lead to 107-102 with under five minutes remaining.
Santi Santillan and Gian Mamuyac chipped in as well to add to their cushion, and Nocum would go on to make it a wide 116-104 count following a tough pullup jumper with 2:09 left to play before going out for good due to cramps.
And that proved to be enough for RoS to come away with the victory, which put them back on track after losing to Converge the last time out.
“I felt that if we’re able to weather the storm, ‘yung shooting nila masyadong maganda … Sabi ko lang we’re playing the pace that we wanted, maybe in the fourth quarter we’ll be able to get a break,” offered head coach Yeng Guiao.
“And true enough, we played better defense in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. Nalampasan lang namin yung torrid shooting,” he furthered, as they overcame the 15 triples and three four-pointers of the Bossing.
That solid windup preserved as well the career-high outing of Keith Datu, who finished with 27 points and eight rebounds in his second game back.
“In the first half I think we stayed in the game because of Keith Datu. Kung pwede lang dalawa ‘yung Best Player [of the Game], si Keith pwede rin,” said Guiao as the TV panel chose Nocum, who scored 19 in the second half.
Tiongson made 14 points. Andrei Caracut, who’s slowly getting his confidence back, and Mamuyac finished with 11 points apiece. Jhonard Clarito added 10 markers as a total of seven players finished in double figures in the victory.
“‘Yun naman talaga ang ideal sa amin, we try to design the burden to be distributed among all the players,” said Guiao of the balanced attack. “Hahanapin lang namin kung sino ‘yung magandang nilalaro sa araw na ‘yun.
“Kanina nag-umpisa kay Keith; si Mamu maganda; si Caelan maganda. Tapos nung second half sina Adrian naman,” he added. “Hinahanap lang namin kung sino. Hindi naman namin ‘yan ilalagay sa balikat ng isa o dalawang tao lang.”
Rain or Shine improved to 3-2 and will look to chalk up another W when it takes on Magnolia on May 18, Sunday, at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.
Blackwater, on the other hand, absorbed its second loss in a row and fell to 1-4 in the standings after failing to sustain a hot start in the match.
Wasted by the loss as well were the efforts of Christian David and Sedrick Barefield, who finished with 28 and 23 points, respectively.
RK Ilagan was the only other double-digit scorer for the Bossing as he helped David give themselves a 64-55 lead with 2:14 left in the second chapter, only for the squad to fizzle out after the break, never to recover.
Coach Jeff Cariaso & Co. will look to snap out of their funk when they face the busy Meralco on Wednesday, May 21, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 120 – Datu 27, Nocum 23, Tiongson 14, Caracut 11, Mamuyac 11, Clarito 10, Santillan 9, Lemetti 8, Norwood 3, Asistio 3, Belga 0.
Blackwater 106 – David 28, Barefield 23, Ilagan 16, Ayonayon 9, Casio 8, Guinto 6, Andrade 5, Escoto 5, Mallilin 4, Chua 2, Tratter 0.
Quarterscores: 37-33, 60-68, 91-91, 120-106.
