Aaron Fuller came through in the clutch as Rain or Shine eked out a 110-109 win to avoid falling to a precarious position in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals, Sunday night at the Dasmarinas City Arena in Cavite.
The seasoned reinforcement finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds as he delivered on both ends of the floor in the dying seconds to make sure that the Elasto Painters won’t be staring at a 0-3 deficit in the best-of-7 series.
“I just had that confidence in myself, just knowing that we don’t wanna be down 0-3,” offered Fuller. “It’s not impossible to get back, but that’s a tall order to try and come back [from] down 0-3. Just laid it all out there.”
He first converted a big three-point play off a Roger Pogoy foul to erase a 109-107 deficit with 3.8 seconds left to play.
Then he helped prevent Rondae Hollis-Jefferson from having a good look for the game-winner to secure the win.
It was, without a doubt, a solid bounce-back for Fuller himself after being limited to just an average of 15.5 points in the first two games – including a lowly 13 the last time out – no thanks to the Tropang Giga’s defense against him.
“We just want to keep improving,” said the former USC Trojan. “We finally played two good halves … we were able to weather the storm.”
Also regaining his touch was Santi Santillan, who produced 20 points on a quartet of triples after scoring a total of nine points in Games 1 and 2.
Jhonard Clarito delivered 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists, doing all that despite having the unenviable task of helping guard Hollis-Jefferson.
Caelan Tiongson remains out due to a calf strain.
Felix Lemetti made 11 points while Adrian Nocum chipped in 11 markers for the Elasto Painters.
Rain or Shine also snapped a seven-game losing skid in the semis that dates back to Game 4 of their 2019 Commissioner’s Cup series against San Miguel.
“Mabuti nailusot namin, kasi ayaw namin ulit na ma-sweep kami, kamukha nung nangyari roon sa last semis namin with San Miguel,” said Coach Yeng Guiao, recalling the 0-4 loss they had in the Season 48 Philippine Cup semis.
“At least we can say that whatever happens, this is going to be a better conference for us. Also, we get ourselves back in the series. It gives us the confidence that we can beat TNT.”
Now, Rain or Shine will look to equalize the series in Game 4 on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, with the tipoff set at 5:00 PM.
Put to naught by the loss, on the other hand, was the playoff career-high of Poy Erram. He finished with a team-best 27 points, which he laced with five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks for a full line.
Also wasted was the fourth PBA career triple-double of Hollis-Jefferson as he tallied 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists plus a pair of steals.
The tandem was responsible for erasing the Elasto Painters’ seven-point lead, powering an 11-2 run – which Erram himself concluded with an underbasket stab – for a 107-105 lead with 2:02 remaining in the game.
But then, Fuller happened, tying the game up at 107-all behind a bucket of his own inside with 1:37 on the clock before negating the go-ahead bucket of Rey Nambatac with his big three-point play for the eventual final count.
Pogoy had 22 points, while Nambatac and Calvin Oftana supplied 17 points apiece for a TNT side that missed Kelly Williams and Jayson Castro.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 110 – Fuller 26, Santillan 20, Clarito 15, Lemetti 11, Nocum 10, Datu 7, Mamuyac 6, Norwood 6, Caracut 5, Belga 2, Asistio 2.
TNT 109 – Erram 27, Hollis-Jefferson 23, Pogoy 22, Nambatac 17, Oftana 17, Aurin 2, Khobuntin 1, Galinato 0, Exciminiano 0, Varilla 0, Heruela 0.
Quarterscores: 23-27, 51-43, 86-78, 110-109
