The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters gained the solo lead in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup.

This, as they remained perfect in a four-game stretch as they fended off the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 91-80, on Wednesday, November 5, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Phoenix actually had a narrow 71-67 lead with more than nine minutes left in the last period, but a 13-0 run turned things around for Rain or Shine, anchored on the attack led by Adrian Nocum, Anton Asistio and Jhonard Clarito.

The Phoenix side came through once more, pulling within four as Sean Manganti converted on a basket at the 3:52 mark, 82-78, but Yeng Guiao’s wards answered back with seven unanswered points, capped by a Gian Mamuyac fadeaway jumper to essentially put away the Fuel Masters.

Although they ended up with a double-digit win, Guiao asserted that it was still a close game, saying that the final score did not reflect the intensity of the match.

“The score doesn’t reflect the closeness of the game,” Guiao uttered. “If you look at the score, it’s a double-digit lead, but it’s a lot closer than that.”

Best Player of the Game Asistio finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 clip from the rainbow arc, three rebounds, and three assists, while Mamuyac top-scored with 22 markers to go with three boards and three dimes.

Clarito and Nocum, who had their share of the limelight, also breached twin-digit scoring with 11 and 10, respectively.

On the other hand, Phoenix absorbed its fourth straight loss. Jason Perkins still had a decent night with 17 points and seven rebounds, as Manganti delivered 13 markers.

Rain or Shine stakes its winning run against fellow contending NLEX Road Warriors on Saturday, November 8, while Phoenix hopes to regain its winning ways versus the Terrafirma Dyip on November 12. (ABS-CBN News)