Rain or Shine avoided falling into a dangerous spot as it showed grit in the endgame to foil TNT, 103-98, and take Game 3 of their PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, Sunday at the SMART Araneta Colisuem.
Free throws by Adrian Nocum, Caelan Tiongson, and Gian Mamuyac inside the final 10.7 seconds were enough for the Elasto Painters to fend off their foes and, more importantly, complete the victory to slice the series deficit to 2-1.
“We’re hoping to push this series into a long series,” offered head coach Yeng Guiao post-game. “At least ngayon, naka 2-1 kami. That means, minimum of five games na ito. Gusto namin umabot ng seven games.
“We’re physically and mentally prepared to play seven games in this series. We designed our management of our minutes to be able to still be fresh in a Game 7, that’s what we’re hoping, kung makarating doon. But for now, isa-isa muna.”
Deon Thompson led the way with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Tiongson had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Adrian Nocum finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
All three played a role in seizing back the fourth.
Tiongson himself was responsible for giving themselves the lead for good. 85-84, with 7:26 remaining. Then Mamuyac, Thompson, and Nocum helped out to push their lead to 98-90 with only 16.8 seconds left to play.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tried to ignite some hope for a Tropang Giga side that played their first game without the injured Jayson Castro. However, he could only do so much as the aforementioned players kept them at bay through free throws.
“We’ve already matched our performance against them: 4-1 kami last time, naka-2-1 kami ngayon,” said Guiao, referring to the Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinals just a few months ago which they lost via gentleman’s sweep.
RHJ tried to carry TNT on his back and finished with game-highs of 34 points — spiked by a pair of four-pointers — and 19 rebounds in a losing effort.
RR Pogoy had 21 points. Calvin Oftana made 13 points and five rebounds while Poy Erram chipped in 10 markers and four rebounds.
Erram himself was at the center of a heated argument with own teammate Glenn Khobuntin with exactly 18 seconds left in the second chapter after Khobuntin tried to pacify him as he gave the referees an earful.
The anger stemmed from what Erram felt were missed calls on holding fouls against him, but things turned worse when he got into a spat with his good pal.
Fortunately, nothing untoward happened as cooler heads prevailed.
The Tropa then played on and even threatened to snatch the game away when they took the 84-83 lead behind Oftana in the fourth.
But Tiongson was there to respond, and momentum would swing the Elasto Painters’ way to finally win one in the series.
Game 4 of the best-of-7 tilt is on Wednesday, March 5, still at the Big Dome, with Rain or Shine of course hoping to continue its winning ways.
“So at least napantayan na namin ‘yung performance namin noong last time. Manalo pa kami ng isa, ibig sabihin, nag-improve na kami,” Guiao said.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 103 – Thompson 19, Tiongson 18, Nocum 16, Asistio 12, Mamuyac 9, Santillan 8, Clarito 7, Norwood 7, Datu 4, Caracut 3, Lemetti 0.
TNT 98 – Hollis-Jefferson 34, Pogoy 21, Oftana 13, Erram 10, Williams 8, Aurin 8, Nambatac 2, Khobuntin 2, Heruela 0, Razon 0.
Quarterscores: 21-21, 49-43, 75-73, 103-98.
