Rain or Shine needed five more minutes to complete its 123-114 come-from-behind victory over the free-falling NLEX to enter into the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, Tuesday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Jhonard Clarito scored the game-tying cleanup with 19.1 seconds remaining in regulation, before import Aaron Fuller and Adrian Nocum came in to stabilize matters and help the Elasto Painters seize control of the overtime period.
Anton Asistio would then seal the deal by nailing all three of his free throws with 39.4 seconds left to play as the squad saved itself after failing to protect a 105-93 lead — a lead they built after playing catch-up for most of the first quarters.
“What we tried to do was… we just tried to hang in there,” offered head coach Yeng Guiao. “Sabi ko dikit lang tayo, sa ganda ng nilalaro ng import at may support sa local, maybe at some point, they’ll tire out.
“Maybe they’ll miss some shots that’s gonna be our opportunity to make a run, which actually happened. We got a run pero naubos rin before mag-overtime. These games are good for us,” the champion mentor added.
Asistio top-scored for Rain or Shine with 25 points, including 14 in the opening period alone, in the triumph that hiked their win-loss record to 6-2.
With that, Guiao and Co. have also gained a share of the Group B lead with San Miguel, which, coincidentally, will be their next foe on Thursday in a rematch of their September 5 duel that saw them fall to a June Mar Fajardo buzzer-beater.
“We’ll see if we have a chance against San Miguel on Thursday. We’ll see if we can still play for that No. 1 spot in our group. We’ll keep trying,” said Guiao.
Fuller finished with a big 20-20 outing with 23 points and 25 rebounds without a turnover like Asistio. Clarito made 15 points and six boards.
Felix Lemetti supplied 14 points, spiked by three triples, while Nocum and Caelan Tiongson chipped in 11 markers each for the Elasto Painters.
Together, they wasted the 49-point explosion of debuting import DeQuan Jones for NLEX, which fell to its fourth loss in a row and dropped to 3-5.
Robert Bolick was his lone backup with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists as he couldn’t win it for the Road Warriors when his potential game-winning jumper from mid-range late in the fourth hit nothing but air as time expired.
Spoiled as well by the defeat was the debut of new guy Javee Mocon, who finished with nine points and three rebounds in 21 minutes of play.
Mocon came via trade from Phoenix, which, coincidentally, will be their next assignment on Friday, facing a team that’s coming off a 119-114 win over Blackwater last Sunday to break through after a 0-7 start to the tilt.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 123 – Asistio 25, Fuller 23, Clarito 15, Lemetti 14, Tiongson 11, Nocum 11, Santillan 7, Datu 7, Mamuyac 5, Ildefonso 3, Belga 2, Caracut 0.
NLEX 114 – Jones 49, Bolick 28, Mocon 9, Herndon 9, Valdez 8, Miranda 6, Amer 3, Marcelo 2, Rodger 0, Semerad 0, Fajardo 0.
Quarterscores: 34-33, 56-61, 89-83, 110-110, 123-114 (OT).
