Rain or Shine roared in the fourth quarter and ran down a struggling San Miguel, 107-93, to list its second win in a row in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup, Tuesday night at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Elasto Painters trailed by a field goal barely three minutes into the said period until Adrian Nocum and Keith Datu powered the decisive 12-0 run toward an 88-78 lead with 6:47 to go.
From there, the game would be all theirs.
It was a strong finish for Coach Yeng Guiao and Co. as they erupted for 37 big points in the said period while limiting their opponents to only 21, eventually sending the perennial contenders skidding to their second straight loss.
“‘Yung 37-point fourth quarter, it’s really the pace that we play,” said head coach Yeng Guiao. “Our only chance against San Miguel is to play fast.
“Pagka nakipag-halfcourt game ka sa kanila, wala kang chance manalo. The only chance for us to win is to play at a pace where they may not be comfortable,” he added as his team scored 15 points off the break.
Deon Thompson finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists to lead Rain or Shine as he managed to overcome foul trouble – mainly brought about by helping defend eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo.
Fajardo still finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Beermen. He manufactured most of his points in the second half, though, finding himself limited to just two points across the game’s first two quarters.
He hardly found solid support from the other SMB guys, as the efforts of Juami Tiongson (16 points), Quincy Miller (12 points), and Mo Tautua’a (10 points) were not enough to save the defending conference champions.
It’s because their younger counterparts thrived, with Nocum himself tallying 15 points – including nine in the final period – along with four rebounds, five assists, and four steals en route to earning Player of the Game honors.
Big man Caelan Tiongson produced 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Datu and Felix Lemetti supplied 12 points apiece, while Jhonard Clarito added 10 markers.
All these players contributed in that fourth-quarter breakaway.
Rain or Shine will now look to score a hat-trick of wins when it battles Magnolia on December 18, Wednesday, 5:00 PM at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
San Miguel (1-2), on the other hand, will look to remedy its situation against the winless Terrafirma on Friday, December 13, 5:00 PM also at NAS.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 107 – Thompson 18, Nocum 15, Tiongson 14, Datu 12, Lemetti 12, Clarito 10, Santillan 9, Caracut 8, Asistio 4, Norwood 3, Ildefonso 2, Belga 0, Demusis 0.
San Miguel 93 – Fajardo 20, Tiongson 16, Miller 12, Tautuaa 10, Perez 9, Trollano 7, Cruz 7, Teng 5, Lassiter 3, Ross 3, Cahilig 1.
Quarterscores: 19-25, 47-42, 70-72, 107-93.
