ANTIPOLO – Adrian Nocum continued to display maturity beyond his years as he powered Rain or Shine past Phoenix, 100-85, to finally break through in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Sunday at the Ynares Center here.
The rookie guard out of Mapua finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals as he led the second-quarter reversal that eventually led to the Elasto Painters’ first win after a harrowing 0-4 start to the tilt.
“Mabuti maganda nilaro ngayon ni Adrian — actually Adrian’s been playing well in the past few games, pero he becomes a bigger threat if he’s making his three-point shots,” said head coach Yeng Guiao as Nocum went 5-of-9 from deep.
Nocum scored 13 in the aforementioned period, where the crew overcame a nine-point deficit and took a 47-41 lead at the half to begin taking control.
He would produce eight more points in the third to make sure that they’d stay ahead before the trio of Jhonard Clarito, Beau Belga, and Santi Santillan helped out in the strong finish to ultimately secure the victory.
“Hindi lang naman sa akin. ‘Yung teammates ko rin,” said the former PBA D-League standout. “At maganda rin ‘yung dinedepensa namin.”
Belga registered a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Clarito supplied 19 points and five rebounds in the win that saw Rain or Shine shoot 40-percent from the floor and dish out 27 assists as a collective.
The Elasto Painters will try to build a win streak as they face the 0-5 Converge on April 3, Wednesday, 7:30. p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Ricci Rivero, on the other hand, had a season-high 16 points to lead the Fuel Masters, which were coming off a 94-78 win over Terrafirma last Wednesday.
RJ Jazul made 11 points while rookie forwards Ken Tuffin and Raffy Verano added identical numbers of 10 points and six rebounds.
Phoenix actually rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit and got to within just six, 86-80, behind JJay Alejandro. But Andrei Caracut and Clarito were there to restore order before Belga and Co. took care of matters to seal the deal.
Coach Jamike Jarin’s wards will have another tough test ahead as they face San Miguel on March 31, Sunday, 3 p.m. at the Big Dome as well.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 100 – Nocum 28, Belga 21, Clarito 19, Santillan 8, Caracut 6, Belo 5, Mamuyac 4, Borboran 4, Norwood 3, Ildefonso 2, Asistio 0, Demusis 0.
Phoenix 85 – Rivero 16, Jazul 11, Tuffin 10, Verano 10, Manganti 7, Mocon 6, Alejandro 6, Muyang 5, Daves 4, Salado 3, Camacho 2, Lalata 0.
Quarterscores: 22-29, 47-41, 78-66, 100-85.
