The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters burned the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hostshots from three-point distance and came away with a 101-92 win to clinch a Top 4 finish and a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Elasto Painters shot the lights out at the Khalifa City Sports Stadium in Bahrain yesterday morning, (Philippine time) as they finished 17-of-32 from the three-point arc for a high 53 percent shooting.
Jhonard Clarito led the team in scoring with 21 points, including a perfect 2-of-2 three-point field goal shooting, while Caelan Tiongson went 4-of-7 from the same distance and Gian Mamuyac was 2-of-3 as the two finished with 14 points each.
Rain or Shine won for the third straight game and regained the solo lead with its 8-2 record, assuring it of a twice-to-beat edge in the playoffs with a Top 4 finish at the end of the eliminations.
The Elasto Painters also got a bonus as Magnolia guards Jerom Lastimosa and Paul Lee went down with injuries, one after the other in the first half of the first ever PBA game to be held in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Lee and Lastimosa failed to return to the contest, hurting the Hotshots’ chances, and led to the team suffering its fourth loss in 10 outings for a four-way tie at fourth place.
Rain or Shine held its biggest lead at 74-58 in the third quarter when veteran Fil-Am Stanley Pringle scored all of his nine points from beyond the arc.
But Magnolia made a concerted effort for a fourth quarter comeback, trimming down the deficit to 91-96 before Mamuyac answered back with a personal five straight points to finally take the fight out of the Hotshots.
Mark Barroca finished with 14 points, Peter Alfaro 13, and Juan Gomez de Liaño with 12 for Magnolia, which missed the scoring of big man Zavier Lucero, who finished with nine points or below his team-best average of 17.4 points. (ABS-CBN News)
RAIN OR SHINE 101 — Clarito 21, Mamuyac 14, Tiongson 14, Nocum 13, Pringle 9, Santillan 8, Porter 8, Caracut 4, Norwood 4, Malonzo 3, Belga 3, Ildefonso 0, Pangilinan-Lemetti 0.
MAGNOLIA 92 — Barroca 14, Alfaro 13, De Liaño 12, Dela Rosa 10, Sangalang 10, Lucero 9, Lee 8, Koon 6, Verano 4, Laput 3, Lastimosa 3, Gomez 0.
Quarterscores: 27-24, 53-47, 81-69, 101-92.