Rain or Shine was hardly shaken in the face of danger and overcame the upset bid of Terrafirma, 124-112, to extend its winning streak to four in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup, Sunday evening at the Philsports Arena.
The Elasto Painters erased a four-point gap with the decisive 13-0 run to take the 117-108 lead, before Adrian Nocum struck the dagger triple with 1:22 left to play in another solid proof of the young team’s progress poise-wise.
It could be recalled that Coach Yeng Guiao’s wards appeared to yield to the veteran-laden Magnolia the last time out when they lost a double-digit lead and fell by 11 in the fourth, but stayed composed and eked out the 102-100 win.
RoS improved to 4-1 to place second in the standings behind conference leaders 6-1 NorthPort after keeping the Dyip winless in seven outings now.
“Sabi ko nga, alam ko na ganito mangyayari ‘pag ‘di natin naiwan or ‘di natin ‘yan napagpag ng maaga. They will fight,” said head coach Yeng Guiao.
“Pero at the same time, ‘yung ganoong klaseng close games and you’re able to close it out the way we did, lesson pa rin ‘yan,” he added.
Deon Thompson top-scored for Rain or Shine with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 17 rebounds, together with four assists, two steals, and a block.
Nocum delivered 21 points, 17 of which he produced in the second half, on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. He also had seven rebounds, a pair of assists, and a block as the slasher deservingly earned Player of the Game honors.
Andrei Caracut made 15 points. Santi Santillan and Anton Asistio added 11 and 10 points, respectively, as they all helped put together the comeback from a slow start that saw the Elasto Painters trail, 37-28, at the end of the first.
RoS will now head into the holiday break merrily before resuming its campaign on January 8 versus Blackwater also at the Philsports Arena.
On the other hand, Brandon Edwards led Terrafirma with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Louie Sangalang gave 21 points and eight rebounds.
Brent Paraiso made 16 points and six rebounds, while Vic Manuel added 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Despite their performances, the team of acting coach Raymond Tiongco just can’t seem to break through into the win column.
They did seem to be on the way to breaking the winless spell when they held a 108-104 lead with less than eight minutes to go – only to enter a scoring drought so lengthy while Rain or Shine strung together the aforementioned run.
The Dyip only bought a bucket at the 1:31-mark courtesy of a Mark Nonoy reverse layup, but it proved too late for the crew to get back into the game.
Nocum delivered the killer blow from the left wing shortly after.
Terrafirma will look to notch its first win when it battles the 1-5 Phoenix on January 7, also at the Philsports Arena in a clash of low-ranked sides.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 124 – Thompson 23, Nocum 21, Caracut 15, Santillan 11, Aistio 10, Malonzo 8, Clarito 7, Datu 7, Lemetti 6, Tiongson 6, Escandor 5, Norwood 2, Ildefonso 2, Belga 1, Demusis 0.
Terrafirma 112 – Edwards 26, Sangalang 21, Paraiso 16, Manuel 12, Hernandez 9, Melecio 7, Catapusan 7, Nonoy 7, Pringle 3, Olivario 2, Ramos 2, Ferrer 0.
Quarterscores: 28-37, 66-62, 98-65, 124-112.
