Rain or Shine made sure that the game won’t be decided in the last second this time as it got back on San Miguel, 122-112, in their second-round meeting in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Unlike in the first encounter where they lost to a June Mar Fajardo buzzer-beater, the Elasto Painters waxed hot from deep early before finishing strong in the fourth quarter to regain the provisional lead in Group B with a 7-2 record.
Making it all the more special is the fact that the franchise finally won against the powerhouse after losing in their last 11 meetings. The last time they beat San Miguel was in the 2021 Philippine Cup bubble in Bacolor, 95-93.
“Sa tagal ng panahon, na-tsambahan din namin,” said head coach Yeng Guiao as the win also saw the squad neutralize the eight-time MVP.
Guiao had previously said that it’s always been difficult to solve the puzzle that is Fajardo, that they’re just waiting for that time to come. It finally happened, as they held the Cebuano star to just 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“Nagtulungan lang kami sa depensa. June Mar is really a handful. Aaron put a good job putting a body. Ganoon din si Beau. Pinagtulungan nila ang role na yon,” offered the champion bench tactician.
But aside from defense, their offense clicked, too, for it witnessed six players finishing in double figures, led by the 20 markers of Andrei Caracut.
Aaron Fuller had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Beau Belga made 16 points, four rebounds, and five assists to earn Player of the Game honors.
Adrian Nocum made 16 as well, with Gian Mamuyac adding 12. Gabe Norwood turned back the hands of time and had a double-double of 10 and 11 boards.
That spread-out attack was made possible, too, by RoS speeding up the pace, which led to 37 fastbreak points — their foes only had 10 of those.
Fifty-seven of their total points were courtesy of the bench, too, in the victory that saw all 12 players fielded score at least two points.
Now, they will try to secure the top spot when they take on Blackwater in the final game of the group stage on Monday in the same venue.
“Masyadong mabigat ang San Miguel, at mabigat na panalo ang nakuha na in. At may chance kami ngayon mag No. 1. If we finish that job, siguro it’s a better place in the quarters, better matchup for us,” Guiao said.
Top-scoring for SMB was CJ Perez with 27 although he fouled out in the loss, which dropped the team to joint second with Ginebra as both are 6-3.
Terrence Romeo made 24 points. Jordan Adams had 24 as well although he left the game early in the fourth due to an apparent hamstring issue, which has casted a cloud of uncertainty above the Beermen.
SMB will be taking on the Bossing as well on Saturday for a chance to keep their top-seed hopes alive in the group, and it remains to be seen if the American winger would be healthy enough to suit up or not.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 122 – Caracut 20, fuller 17, Belga 16, Nocum 16, Mamuyac 12, Norwood 10, Lemetti 8, Clarito 7, Santillan 6, Ildefonso 5, Tiongson 3, Asistio 2.
San Miguel 112 – Perez 27, Romeo 24, Adams 24, Fajardo 14, Trollano 6, Cruz 5, Manuel 4, Lassiter 3, Ross 3, Teng 2.
Quarterscores: 33-32, 61-59, 97-88, 122-112.
