Rain or Shine avoided falling into a precarious situation in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals following a 106-96 upset of TNT Friday.
The Elasto Painters took control of the game in the second quarter before pulling away for good in the final period on the way to securing the sixth seed entering the playoffs’ first round instead of vying for the eighth spot.
Had they lost, they’d be figuring in the knockout game this coming Sunday in Antipolo against Magnolia, who earlier beat Meralco via big margin, 129-92. The Hotshots will instead play NLEX in a battle between 6-6 teams.
RoS will now be facing the third-seeded Converge in a best-of-3 series that starts next week, the best scenario for a team that struggled this January.
Deon Thompson top-scored in the win with 22 points and 16 rebounds.
Anton Asistio fired 21 points behind a hot 6-of-7 clip from three.
The loss, on the other hand, hardly affected the Tropang Giga as they’re already assured of the no. 2 spot after what happened in the Magnolia-Meralco tiff.
Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, TNT will meet the no. 7 Hong Kong Eastern in the next round, hoping of course to maximize its incentive.
