Rain or Shine finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel by adding to the woes of a free-falling Blackwater, 115-110, to break through in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Andrei Caracut, Jhonard Clarito, and Adrian Nocum delivered in crunch time as the young guns fended off the Bossing to make sure that the Elasto Painters would get their first win after starting with five straight losses.
“We look at this as a really good start,” offered head coach Yeng Guiao postgame. “We are looking at it as parang spark na kailangan namin. May chance pa naman eh. Hindi naman kami nawawalan ng pag-asa.”
Caracut finished with 17 points on a 50-percent clip to lead Rain or Shine. Import Demetrius Treadwell made 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 18 rebounds, together with seven assists and a steal.
Santi Santillan and Nocum, just in his second PBA game ever, produced 14 points apiece. Clarito chipped in 11 while Mark Borboran added 10.
The Elasto Painters missed both Gian Mamuyac and veteran enforcer Beau Belga due to flu but that didn’t stop the crew from establishing an early lead, even posting a 101-88 advantage during the fourth quarter.
But their foes refused to wave the white flag, with import Chris Ortiz leading a rally that saw Blackwater get to within three, 110-107, with 42.6 seconds left.
That, however, would be the closest they’d get as Caracut and Clarito came through with the key free throws to keep the Bossing at bay.
“Meron pa kaming limang laro. Malay niyo, ma-istraight namin ‘yung limang laro. May milagro pa rin namang nangyayari e,” said Guiao as RoS’ win makes Converge the only winless team in the conference.
Rain or Shine will try to get going against Stokely Chaffee Jr. and NLEX on December 8, Friday, 4 p.m. still at Philsports.
Ortiz, meanwhile, had 46 points and nine rebounds to lead Blackwater, who reeled to its fifth successive defeat and fell to 1-5 in the standings.
The Puerto Rican reinforcement did the heavy lifting as he hardly received support from the locals, with Rey Suerta and Troy Rosario the only other players who finished in double figures with 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
Also, the loss spoiled the return of lead floor general Baser Amer, who was sidelined for nearly a month as he suffered another calf injury.
The road won’t get any easier for Blackwater as it faces the top-seeded Magnolia (5-0) on December 6, Wednesday, 8 p.m. at Philsports as well.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 115 – Caracut 17, Treadwell 14, Santillan 14, Nocum 14, Clarito 11, Borboran 10, Belo 8, Ildefonso 7, Nambatac 6, Yap 6, Norwood 6, Asistio 0.
Blackwater 110 – Ortiz 46, Suerte 12, Rosario 10, Ilagan 9, Ular 8, DiGregorio 7, Ayonayon 6, David 4, Escoto 3, Amer 3, Guinto 2, Hill 0, Banal 0, McCarthy 0.
Quarterscores: 37-27, 61-54, 86-80, 115-110.
