ANTIPOLO – Jhonard Clarito knew how to redeem himself after playing an important role in Rain or Shine’s thrilling escape from Ginebra in Game 1 of their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series on Wednesday.
The bruising winger finished with 25 points and six rebounds, coming through with crucial plays during crunch time. And his performance let the Elasto Painters pull off the 115-111 escape and draw first blood in their best-of-seven affair.
It was also his way of making up for his disappearing act in their elimination round meeting with the Kings last May 3, where they got crushed, 114-90, under the bright lights of the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
There, he laid a fat egg while the opposition had their way, especially from deep, as they knocked down a total of 21 three-pointers.
Seventeen days later, he finally had himself a chance to atone for that rare scoreless performance — and succeeded.
Clarito put in a consistent showing, thanks to his effort on both ends down the stretch, much to the delight of Rain or Shine.
(C) PBA Images
After collaring a miss by the Kings, the 2024 Most Improved Player hit a booming trey from the corner to push their lead to 111-107 with 1:18 left.
And when Ginebra came within a field goal from six down behind Scottie Thompson, he was there to help keep them at bay. Clarito went perfect from the foul line with 16.1 seconds to spare, which settled the eventual scoreline.
Those bonuses were also his way of bouncing back from their sorry 92-90 loss to NLEX last April 29 in the virtual battle for the no. 1 seed. There, he missed what could’ve been the marginal free throws in the dying seconds.
There were many layers for him in this dramatic Game 1 win, although he refuses to take all the spotlight. Instead, he’s prouder of the poise they showed when rallying from 10 points down early in the fourth.
“Ano lang, nag-usap-usap lang kami sa [huddle] namin: depensa. Tsaka ginawa lang namin ‘yung pinapraktis namin,” he said after the match.
It was indeed an opener for the books, with Clarito among those at the center, much to the joy of the 10,412 fans in attendance — the third all-time largest crowd in this venue, per PBA stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
Aside from Clarito, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao himself expressed delight to have given the audience a game to remember.
“This is a really good game for the fans. Kasi natutuwa ako na ‘pag pinapanood nila ‘yung Rain or Shine, manalo o matalo, nag-e-enjoy sila. Kampi man sila sa amin o hindi, gusto ko lang mag-enjoy ‘yung mga fans,” he said.
