Rain or Shine dealt Magnolia its first loss of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup by way of a 113-110 victory in a thrilling encounter, Saturday night at the Aquilino Pimentel International Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro.
Santi Santillan nailed the go-ahead trey with 1:19 left before free throws by Andrei Caracut and Tree Treadwell plus key stops ultimately enabled the Elasto Painters to complete the massive upset of the conference’s top seed.
Treadwell led RoS with 30 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists to their third win in a row after starting the tournament with five consecutive losses.
Caracut made 15 points, spiked by three triples, and six assists. Keith Datu fired 14 points on a perfect 5-for-5 clip from the field, including 4-of-4 from deep.
Santillan had 11 points for Rain or Shine, who even held a 57-45 halftime lead before overcoming the opposition’s strong second-half assault.
Tyler Bey, on the other hand, had 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Hotshots, which lost for the first time after winning their first seven games.
Counting its matches in the PBA On Tour preseason tilt, Magnolia came into CdO with an 18-game winning streak, which lasted for about half a year.
Bey himself helped Magnolia late in the game, conniving with Mark Barroca for the 10-0 run that gave them the 108-104 lead with 2:22 left.
It appeared that the veteran-laden crew had it in the bag but their younger foes refused to bow. Datu and Santillan nailed a trey each before a split by Caracut gave Rain or Shine the 111-108 lead with 19.5 seconds left.
A quick two by Bey cut the gap to a solitary point but the Hotshots just couldn’t lift themselves back into the lead, with Barroca missing a baseline floater.
A ray of hope shone on them when Caracut only split his freebies but Treadwell came through with a key rebound and then went 1-of-2 on his trip to the line to push the Elasto Painters’ lead to three with 10.9 seconds left.
Magnolia had the opportunity to at least get another immediate deuce but RoS’ defense prevented the team from accomplishing as much.
Paul Lee had 22 points. Barroca made 20 points and seven assists while Jio Jalalon added 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Both teams will take turns facing Terrafirma for their next games. Magnolia will have its first crack on the Dyip on December 20 at 8 p.m., before RoS tests their mettle on the 23rd at 3 p.m. Both matches are at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 113 – Treadwell 30, Caracut 15, Datu 14, Santillan 11, Norwood 9, Asistio 8, Belga 7, Nambatac 5, Mamuyac 5, Nocum 4, Demusis 3, Borboran 2, Clarito 0, Yap 0.
Magnolia 110 – Bey 30, Lee 22, Barroca 20, Jalalon 13, Laput 7, Escoto 5, Tratter 4, Sangalang 4, Mendoza 3, Reavis 2, Ahanmisi 0, Dela Rosa 0, Eriobu 0, Dionisio 0.
Quarterscores: 24-22, 57-45, 82-81, 113-110.
