Rain or Shine’s turnaround continued into the new year, winning its fifth straight game in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup at the expense of TNT, 119-112, on Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Though the Elasto Painters were able to raise their record to an even 5-5 record for solo seventh — a full game ahead of the Tropang Giga, the win was overshadowed by a confrontation between Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Yeng Guiao.
With 49 seconds left and TNT down 112-106, Rondae’s brother Rahlir fouled Rain or Shine import Demetrius Treadwell.
Rondae, disappointed with the call, rushed to the referees from the patron section by way of the back of the Elasto Painters bench.
Guiao and his boys saw the act as disrespectful, egging on Rondae to shoo him away.
“Nagulat kami, ba’t siya andon? I mean, that’s disrespectful,” recalled Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao.
“Totally disrespectful. Nobody does that. You go to the bench of the other team and… I don’t know what he was doing there.”
Surprisingly, Rondae, who was a ticketholder, was assessed a technical foul.
Cooler heads prevailed afterward as Rain or Shine was able to clinch a playoff berth.
It was still a character win for the Elasto Painters as they were down 106-104 with 3:49 left.
Andrei Caracut sparked Rain or Shine’s huge endgame spurt.
As the Rain or Shine rally ended, it was already up 117-109.
“Maganda rin sa amin na matuto kaming manalo doon sa game na dikdikan hanggang huli. We’re a young team. We need games like this to toughen us up, and we’re just trying to get ourselves prepared for the playoffs. I think with this win we can look forward to the playoffs,” said Guiao about the game.
Tree Treadwell produced 25 points and 24 rebounds while Caracut got 23 points, including four crucial free throws.
Rey Nambatac and Beau Belga added 19 and 16 points, respectively.
The Elasto Painters will face also-ran Converge FiberXers to close out their campaign on Sunday, January 14 at Philsports Arena. A win will secure their spot in the quarters.
Meanwhile, the shorthanded Tropang Giga leaned on the duo of Rahlir and Calvin Oftana. The former finishing with 50 points and 16 rebounds while the latter fired 37 points.
TNT takes on surging Phoenix Super LPG also on the 14th.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 119 – Treadwell 25, Caracut 23, Nambaatc 19, Belga 16, Santillan 10, Clarito 9, Mamuyac 8, Norwood 4, Datu 4, Asistio 1, Borboran 0.
TNT 112– Hollis-Jefferson 50, Oftana 37, Aurin 7, Galinato 6, Khobuntin 6, Heruela 3, Montalbo 2, K.Williams 1, Reyes 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Ponferrada 0.
Quarterscores: 32-31, 66-62, 89-91, 119-112
