Rain or Shine punched its ticket to the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals after tearing NLEX apart, 120-104, Friday night at the Philsports Arena.
The Elasto Painters unloaded 67 points in the middle quarters to break the game wide open to notch their sixth win of the conference (6-5), joining San Miguel, Barangay Ginebra, and Magnolia into the first round of the playoffs.
RoS’ beatdown of the Road Warriors, which fell to 5-5, enabled the Kings to clinch the second and last twice-to-beat quarters advantage.
“Ngayon nagbubunga na eh,” offered head coach Yeng Guiao post-game. “Noong una siguro, baka hindi pa napapanahon.
“Last conference, 0-5 kami tsaka kami nakabawi. Ngayon naman 0-4, tsaka kami nakabawi. So ibig sabihin nag-i-improve na kami kahit kaunti.”
Beau Belga led the balanced attack with 18 points. Santi Santillan flirted with a double-double of 17 points and nine rebounds with four assists.
Jhonard Clarito had 15 points and six boards, while Shaun Ildefonso produced 14 points that included the two-handed jam to end the game.
Andrei Caracut and Gian Mamuyac added 12 apiece for a team that also welcomed back Keith Datu after being out for a while due to an MCL injury.
“Wala kang masabi sa ugali ng mga players, lahat naman sila mabait, masipag,” said Guiao as his team heads into its second straight quarters trip.
Robert Bolick, meanwhile, had 38 points, four rebounds, and five assists to lead the Road Warriors, which fell to their fourth loss in a row.
NLEX will try to secure its own quarterfinal slot against the 7-3 Ginebra on Sunday, May 5, 6:15 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 120 – Belga 18, Santillan 17, Clarito 15, Ildefonso 14, Caracut 12, Mamuyac 12, Asistio 7, Datu 6, Nocum 6, Borboran 5, Concepcion 3, Demusis 3, Norwood 2, Belo 0, Paredes 0.
NLEX 104 – Bolick 38, Semerad 18, Rodger 9, Valdez 9, Nieto 8, Fajardo 6, Anthony 6, Nermal 6, Miranda 2, Amer 2, Pascual 0, Herndon 0, Marcelo 0.
Quarterscores: 30-23, 62-43, 97-74, 120-104.
