Jhonard Clarito and Andrei Caracut finished it off as Rain or Shine withstood a Terrafirma side that’s only fighting for pride, 94-85, to boost its top four bid in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
Clarito finished with a team-high 12 points, while Caracut tallied 11 points. The duo joined forces for the closing run that stymied the Dyip, who came back from as much as 18 down and knocked within three inside the final 4:52.
Caracut got into a personal streak by scoring seven straight points to turn a narrow 83-80 lead into a 90-80 advantage with less than two minutes to go.
Clarito then went on to knock down the killer blow — a lucky three-pointer from the corner off a foul against Keith Zaldivar to make it a 94-83 count with 42.1 seconds left that left even head coach Yeng Guiao impressed.
(C) PBA Images
The Elasto Painters would go on to net their second win in a row to improve to 6-3, gaining a share of the No. 4 spot with Ginebra in the standings.
And the Kings, coincidentally, are their final elimination round assignment on June 15. However, they can’t look that far ahead yet, as RoS will have to go through San Miguel first this Saturday in Cagayan de Oro City.
“Nung una kasi, we were just trying to get to six wins. Now, we’ve got to six wins. Now, we’re trying to get to eight wins,” Guiao offered. “Eight wins gets you twice-to-beat. No doubt about that sa kuwenta namin.”
Santi Santillan supplied 10 points and nine rebounds. Anton Asistio and seldom-used Ef Escandor also had 10 apiece as Rain or Shine tried to give the bench more minutes to stay fresh for their upcoming trip to CdO.
“Part ng plano namin to give minutes to our bench,” Guiao said. “Kasi nga, gusto namin fresh pa rin kami. Bibiyahe pa kami ng Friday, tapos mabigat na laro on Saturday. So kailangan talaga ‘yung key players namin presko pa rin.”
(C) PBA Images
The Elasto Painters’ well-deployed attack also spoiled the record night of Stanley Pringle, who became the 100th player to join the PBA’s 5,000 points club.
He accomplished the feat during the first half when he had 10 points, but it was also during that time when the opposition took control of the game for good through an 11-0 run toward a 45-34 lead entering the halftime break.
Pringle went on to finish with 18 points, alongside 11 rebounds and six assists for a team that remained at the bottom of the standings at 1-9.
Top-scoring for the crew was Louie Sangalang with 22 points, while Mark Nonoy added 10 for Terrafirma, which will finish its season against Blackwater on Sunday, June 8, as the league returns to the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 94 – Clarito 12, Caracut 11, Santillan 10, Escandor 10, Asistio 10, Mamuyac 9, Datu 8, Nocum 7, Ildefonso 7, Tiongson 3, Norwood 3, Porter 2, Malonzo 2.
Terrafirma 85 – Sangalang 22, Pringle 18, Nonoy 10, Hernandez 8, Ramos 7, Catapusan 7, Melecio 5, Paraiso 5, Zaldivar 3, Hanapi 0, Olivario 0.
Quarterscores: 20-21, 45-34, 73-55, 94-85.
