The usual suspects delivered in the clutch as Rain or Shine overcame a gallant stand by Macau, 116-109, for a successful PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup debut, Saturday night at the Ynares Center II in Montalban, Rizal.
Black Knights import Tony Mitchell got called for a technical foul with 46.6 seconds left and that gave the Elasto Painters the chance to take the lead, and they did as Gian Mamuyac nailed the bonus for the 108-107 advantage.
Adrian Nocum then went on to widen the spread shortly after following a three-point play completion off a Caelan Tiongson feed, and it would be all RoS, with Jhonard Clarito and Jaylen Johnson applying the finishing touches.
Thanks to their late run, Coach Yeng Guiao & Co. have joined Terrafirma, Phoenix, NLEX, and Converge as the early winners in the midseason joust.
(C) PBA Images
“They gave us a lot of problems,” lamented Guiao as they had to fight back from a deficit as big as 12. “I was really worried in the first half. They were making their threes, they were making their fours, and their guards were a handful.
“They kept beating us on ball screens. It’s a good thing we made adjustments,” the champion bench tactician added. “We played a lot better defense in the second half, and we were able to get our running game going.”
Johnson impressed in his PBA debut as the 29-year-old forward finished with 29 points and 24 rebounds, alongside six assists to lead Rain or Shine.
Nocum delivered 19 points, 15 of which he made in the second half as he helped lead their 31-point third-quarter barrage to take the 83-78 lead.
Clarito made 16 points and nine rebounds while Mamuyac chipped in 11 for the Elasto Painters, who finished with 32 assists and 69 rebounds.
RoS will now shift its attention to Bol Bol and TNT in what should be another thrilling bout set on Wednesday, March 18, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
(C) PBA Images
Phoenix Shackelford had 25 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists to lead Macau, which fell to 0-2 as it collapsed in the endgame, again similar to what happened against Converge in the tilt’s opening gameday last Wednesday.
Damian Chongqui made 22 points and six assists. Jenning Leung supplied 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, with Mitchell producing 18.
Ramon Cao registered 14 points and 15 rebounds, but left the game prematurely as he got fouled out still with 6:54 remaining in the fourth.
Still, the Black Knights threatened even without one of their key bigs, rallying back from down 92-100 to tying things up at 107-all with 1:05 left following a perfect trip to the foul line by Chon Pong Lao off a Mamuyac foul.
But then, Mitchell got T’d up for complaining, and that proved to be the end for the guest team as Rain or Shine finished the game with a 9-2 run.
Up next for Macau will be the debuting Ginebra San Miguel in a meeting set on Friday, March 20, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 116 – Johnson 29, Nocum 19, Clarito 16, Mamuyac 11, Lemetti 9, Tiongson 6, Roque 5, David 4, Caracut 4, Asistio 3, Villegas 3, Santillan 3, Manaytay 2, Malonzo 2, Belga 0.
Macau 109 – Shackelford 25, Chongqui 22, Leung 20, Mitchell 18, Cao 14, Lao 8, Sun 2, Chao 0, Lu 0.
Quarterscores: 24-28, 52-58, 83-78, 116-109.
