Rain or Shine took the limelight on the night much of the attention was on Bol Bol by spoiling the start of TNT’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup title defense bid by way of a 112-109 victory at a packed SMART Araneta Coliseum, Friday.
The former NBA big man was as good as advertised with 38 points and 16 rebounds but the Elasto Painters ultimately came out triumphant, pulling it off despite losing Jaylen Johnson following a fistfight with Glenn Khobuntin.
It happened at such a critical juncture and both men were subsequently thrown out but the locals held the fort, with Caelan Tiongson and Adrian Nocum serving as the stabilizing presence needed in the midst of the Tropang 5G’s fightback.
Nocum himself hit a tough layup off a drive against Bol for the eventual scoreline with 9.8 seconds left, but sealing it for RoS was the latter’s missed attempt at tying the game from the outside, much to his frustration.
As a result, the Elasto Painters have improved to 2-0, joining Terrafirma, Phoenix, NLEX, and Meralco at the upper echelon of the standings.
