Rain or Shine avoided elimination–for now–following a 113-97 victory over a severely undermanned TNT to take Game 5 of their PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semifinal duel, Friday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Facing an injury-riddled team that was without the suspended Chot Reyes, the Elasto Painters seized the lead early before pulling away for good in the third to eventually cut the Tropang 5G’s deficit to 2-3 in the best-of-7 affair.
Now with renewed hope, the wards of Coach Yeng Guiao will look to send the series to a decider by owning Game 6 set this Sunday, still at the Big Dome.
(C) PBA Images
“We survived another day so may laro pa kami ng Sunday,” said Coach Yeng Guiao. “This is the closest we’ve been to the Finals, so we look at it as a really positive development for us. At least naka-dalawang panalo na kami sa semis.”
Gian Mamuyac top-scored for RoS with 22 points alongside three rebounds and three assists to submit his best performance of the semis to date. The lanky winger scored 16 in just the first quarter to lead his side to a 28-24 lead.
Jhonard Clarito did a bit of everything as he finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, plus a steal and a block each for a full line.
Keith Datu and the backcourt tandem of Adrian Nocum–recently signed to a new three-year extension–and Andrei Caracut all added 11 points apiece.
Datu himself was crucial in the aforementioned breakaway, with his three-point play conversion triggering the decisive 13-0 run–the last eight of which came from the free throw line–toward a big 74-56 lead with 6:12 remaining.
Their lead rose to its highest at 35 points, 99-64, following an Anton Asistion four-point make off a Clarito assist barely a minute into the fourth.
“‘Yung third quarter malaking bagay sa amin. I think it was really the defense we were able to play because first half we were not able to contain si Calvin … talagang ‘yung shooting niya, maganda ang offense niya,” said Guiao.
(C) PBA Images
Calvin Oftana was indeed a headache for the Elasto Painters as he already had 21 in the first half, but got held to just two points in the next 24 minutes.
Simon Enciso backed him up with 20 points while Glenn Khobuntin and Kim Aurin added 13 each, but their efforts weren’t enough as the remaining healthy cogs could only do so much in covering for Kelly Williams’ absence.
The former league MVP was out due to the sprained left ankle he sustained early in Game 4 last Wednesday, and no longer played through it.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 113 – Mamuyac 22, Clarito 19, Nocum 11, Caracut 11, Malonzo 8, Tiongson 8, Asistio 7, Santillan 7, Ildefonso 5, Porter 2, Norwood 2, Borboran 0, Escandor 0
TNT 97 – Oftana 23, Enciso 20, Khobuntin 13, Aurin 13, Galinato 9, Vosotros 8, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Heading 3, Erram 2, Heruela 0, Nieto 0, Varilla 0
Quarterscores: 28-24, 56-52, 93-64, 113-97.
