Rain or Shine snapped out of its two-game funk by sending the erstwhile top-seeded NorthPort slumping all of a sudden, 127-107, in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup on Thursday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Elasto Painters finished the first quarter with nine unanswered points to establish a 33-18 lead and that set the tone for the rout that ultimately helped the crew improve to 6-3 — and create a four-way tie at fourth in the standings.
Coach Yeng Guiao’s wards are sharing the said spot with Meralco, guest team Hong Kong Eastern, and Barangay Ginebra as they all tote similar records.
The Batang Pier, meanwhile, fell to 7-3 after absorbing back-to-back losses for the first time in this conference, dropping to second as TNT has emerged as the new no. 1 seed with a better record in terms of percentage with a 5-2 card.
“‘Yung mga last games namin, ‘pag nawalan kami ng focus, doon bumabagsak laro namin. Ang objective lang namin is to focus, compete,” Guiao offered in the postgame presser. “Ganun lang ka-simple ‘yung usapan namin kanina.”
Seven players finished in double figures for Rain or Shine, with Deon Thompson finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way as the American big man overcame early foul trouble to help his team secure the blowout.
Adrian Nocum flirted with a triple-double as the slasher finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in nearly 29 minutes off the bench.
Santi Santillan scored 16 as well. Andrei Caracut supplied 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists as he has seemingly regained his confidence following subpar showings in their losses to Phoenix and Converge.
Anton Asistio made 12 points and five rebounds. Keith Datu produced 11 points and seven rebounds while Beau Belga added 10 markers in the triumph that saw RoS lead by as high as 25 points, 121-96, during the fourth.
The skid now laid to rest, the Elasto Painters have regained their morale heading into their marquee matchup against the Kings on January 22, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Kadeem Jack, on the other hand, paced NorthPort with 39 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat. Main man Arvin Tolentino and lead winger Joshua Munzon were his only support with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Coach Bonnie Tan and Co. will look to arrest their skid when they take on San Miguel Beer on January 21, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. also in Antipolo.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 127 – Thompson 25, Nocum 16, Santillan 16, Caracut 13, Asistio 12, Datu 11, Norwood 7, Belga 10, Clarito 8, Tiongson 5, Malonzo 2, Lemetti 0, Ildefonso 0.
NorthPort 107 – Jack 39, Munzon 17, Tolentino 19, Flores 8, Cuntapay 5, Nelle 5, Miranda 4, Yu 3, Bulanadi 2, Onwubere 3, Navarro 2.
Quarterscores: 33-18, 62-44, 96-75, 127-107.
