By ADRIAN STEWART CO
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters notched their fourth consecutive triumph in the PBA Philippine Cup after taking down the Terrafirma Dyip, 116-104, at the Caloocan Sports Complex on Saturday, April 13.
Beau Belga had a near triple-double showing of 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the way for the Painters, while Andrei Caracut chipped in 17 markers.
Jhonard Clarito contributed 16 points, Leonard Santillan had 15 points and nine rebounds, while Mark Borboran, Rey Mark Belo and Gian Mamuyac contributed 13, 11 and 10, respectively, as the Painters moved up to 4-4.
Painters head coach Joseller “Yeng” Guiao said, despite their fourth consecutive triumph, it is still a challenge for them to secure at least a quarterfinal seat in this conference.
“Ang problema ‘yung mga teams na inaasahan mo na nasa ibaba, nasa itaas ngayon eh. So ‘yun ang magpapahirap sa amin,” Guiao said in a post-game interview.
“Huwag na nating sabihin ‘yung mga regular na talagang malalakas na teams, although karamihan [sa kanila] nakalaban na namin,” he said.
“So wala pa ito. Wala pa kaming naa-achieve dahil marami pa kaming dadaanan,” he added.
Stephen Holt and Juan Miguel Tiongson led the way with 20 points each, Javi Gomez de Liaño added 18 markers, while Isaac Go contributed 13 as the Dyip dropped to a 4-5 mark.
Meanwhile, the TNT Tropang Giga clawed back from a double-digit deficit to score a 104-101 win over the NLEX Road Warriors in PBA at the Candon Sports Arena in Ilocos Sur also on Saturday night.
Down by as much as 11 points after three quarters, the Tropang Giga rode on the exploits of Calvin Oftana to tie the score at 95-all before taking a 100-99 lead on a triple by Jayson Castro.
The Road Warriors regained the lead at 101-100 on a conversion by Robert Bolick, but a three-pointer by Roger Pogoy and a split free throw by Glenn Khobuntin completed TNT’s comeback win.
Oftana led the way for TNT with 37 points, including three three-point conversions, Pogoy added 21 markers, while Castro and Khobuntin ended with 16 and 11, respectively, as they improved to 4-3./ASC, WDJ