Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito took turns in helping Rain or Shine finish off Phoenix, 109-99, to move closer in clinching a quarterfinal berth in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Wednesday night at the Philsports Arena.
The slashing guard finished with a career-high 30 points, while the bruising winger collated 20 points and 10 rebounds as the two formed a 1-2 combo down the stretch to ward off the Fuel Masters’ rally from as much as 19 down.
That big of a lead became just five with 4:32 to go but the duo came in, with Nocum heading a mini 6-0 run to make it a 104-93 spread with 2:51 to spare.
Clarito then went on to strike the dagger, knocking down a booming trifecta from the corner to push their lead to 107-95 with 1:48 left to play, taking the fight out of their foes en route to bouncing back after losing to TNT exactly a week ago.
“Galing kami sa talo, tapos sobrang sama rin nang nilaro ko last game, so wala akong ibang inisip kundi makabawi,” said Nocum, who actually suffered a minor sprain against the Tropang 5G but was quick to recover from it.
(C) PBA Images
Not only did they get back on track, but RoS improved their card to 5-3 as well, provisionally dislodging Converge (6-4) at the fifth spot of the standings to get close behind the current no. 4 seed in Barangay Ginebra (5-2).
But the FiberXers have been formally assured of a ticket to the quarters — ditto with 6-2 teams San Miguel and NLEX — huge thanks to the Elasto Painters, as the magic number of wins in order to advance is now set at six.
“We’re 5-3 right now, hinahanap lang namin ‘yung paniguradong makakapasok kami sa quarterfinals,” said head coach Yeng Guiao as they’re set to finish their elimination round campaign against Terrafirma and the Kings.
Caelan Tiongson supplied 14 points and eight rebounds while Santi Santillan added 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists for Rain or Shine, who welcomed Kris Porter on board as its newest addition.
Signed for the remainder of the conference in a deal that took place in the morning of the game, the sweet-shooting big man watched his new team from the sidelines beat, coincidentally, his last PBA team before going to the MPBL.
Porter was brought in to address the Elasto Painters’ woes up front, with Beau Belga out indefinitely due to vertigo and Luis Villegas still injured.
“Nagpa-practice na siya ng ilang araw. Dati ko namang player ‘yan sa NLEX so he knows me, and I know him. So I don’t think magkakaroon ng problema sa blending niya sa team,” said Guiao, who coached Porter for three years.
(C) PBA Images
Kenneth Tuffin, on the other hand, led Phoenix with 15 points and six rebounds although he fouled out during the fourth quarter, and could only watch helplessly as his team fell to its third successive defeat and stayed at no. 9 with a 2-6 slate.
Raffy Verano and Tyler Tio had 14 points apiece. RJ Jazul had 11 points while Jason Perkins chipped in 10 markers and eight rebounds.
The Fuel Masters will look to keep their playoff hopes alive when they take on the Road Warriors on Sunday, June 1, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 109 – Nocum 30, Clarito 20, Tiongson 14, Santillan 12, Caracut 8, Mamuyac 6, Asistio 5, Lemetti 4, Norwood 3, Ildefonso 3, Malonzo 2, Datu 2.
Phoenix 99 – Tuffin 15, Verano 14, Tio 14, Jazul 11, Perkins 10, Garcia 8, Ballungay 8, Camacho 6, Daves 5, Manganti 3, Cullar 3, Soyud 2, Alejandro 0, Ular 0.
Quarterscores: 30-25, 57-43, 90-75, 109-99.
