The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters kept TNT Tropang 5G in check in the final quarter to score a 91-89 victory in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro on Saturday night, November 15.
The Elasto Painters completed a comeback from 18 points down by limiting the Tropang 5G to a paltry eight points in the final frame.
Gabe Norwood scored eight of his 16 points in the final quarter while Gian Mamuyac added 14 points, as the Elasto Painters recovered from a slow start that saw them trail 24-6 against TNT.
Down 74-81 entering the fourth period, the Painters opened the quarter with seven unanswered points to snatch an 83-81 lead and set the table for a nip-and-tuck finish.
Andrei Caracut was their hero in the end game, as the guard beat the shotclock buzzer with a baseline floater to give the Painters the lead for good, 90-89.
The Elasto Painters locked down defensively from there, as Rey Nambatac, Roger Pogoy and Jordan Heading all blew their chances to put TNT back ahead.
A flagrant foul on Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser with 8.6 seconds left seemed to spell the end for TNT, but Adrian Nocum left the door open for the Tropang 5G when he bricked both free throws.
Rain or Shine retained possession but Jhonard Clarito only managed a split at the line with 7.5 seconds to go.
Unfortunately for the Tropang 5G, the clock ran out on them as Pogoy’s attempt came well after the buzzer, and was also off the mark.
The result snapped TNT’s run of four straight wins, putting them at 5-2 with four games left on their schedule.
Rain or Shine, meanwhile, improved to 6-2.
Nambatac and Pogoy each had 18 points for the Tropang 5G, but they struggled from the field as a team and shot just 39.2 percent. (ABS-CBN News)
RAIN OR SHINE 91 — Norwood 16, Mamuyac 14, Santillan 8, Clarito 8, Tiongson 7, Nocum 7, Caracut 7, Lemetti 6, Asistio 5, Malonzo 4, Belga 4, Manaytay 3, Pringle 2.
TNT 89 – Nambatac 18, Pogoy 18, Heading 15, Galinato 13, Williams 9, Aurin 6, Jalalon 4, Ferrer 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Khobuntin 0, Erram 0.
Quarterscores: 18-31, 42-54, 74-81, 91-89.