Rain or Shine’s Andrei Caracut in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup against Magnolia. Photo from PBA Images.MANILA — The Rain or Shine ElastoPainters went through a hard-fought battle against the Magnolia Hotshots to post their third victory in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
Yeng Guiao’s troops averted a meltdown in the second half en route to a 102-100 victory on Wednesday evening at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
”Yung mga tiwala ko sa teammates ko, alam ko na hindi sila basta-basta papayag na matalo,” said Andrei Caracut, who posted 15 points, three assists, and two rebounds in the third straight victory of the E-Painters in four games.
“Ako, personally, ‘di rin ako papayag na ‘di ako lalaban, nagkakahawahan kami,” added Caracut of their fightback in the last quarter despite failing to hold on to their 13-point advantage in the third.
Deon Thompson led ROS with an 18-point, 15-rebound game on top of three blocks and three steals, while Santi Santillan and Caelan Tiongson posted 17 and 11, respectively.
After already seeing their 77-64 lead diminish to three, 81-78, to end the third period, ROS suddenly saw themselves trail by 12, 98-86, all thanks to Ricardo Ratliffe, Zav Lucero, Ian Sanggalang, and Mark Barocca.
The E-Painters, however, had their own fight back — once which came through a 14-to-2 surge which was highlighted by a four-pointer by Caracut at the 3:50 mark to tie the game at 100.
Aside from this, after Ian Sangalang made a deuce earlier with still 6:06 left in the game, the Hotshots suddenly went cold and fried blanks until the final buzzer sounded.
Unfortunately for them, Rence Nocum made a go-ahead basket for ROS at the 3:26 mark, while Lucero, Jerom Lastimosa, and Paul Lee all missed their chances to either tie or win the game.
Also adding to their woes was the early exit of Ratliffe at the 2:46 mark after was hit with his sixth foul due to an illegal screen.
He posted a game-high 27 points with 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals, but these all went for naught as they fell to their fourth straight loss in five games.
Following him were Sanggalang’s 21 markers, and next to him were Barroca and Lucero’s 18 and 11, respectively.
The Scores:
Rain Or Shine 102 – Thompson 18, Santillan 17, Caracut 15, Tiongson 11, Nocum 10, Belga 7, Calrito 6, Datu 6, Lemetti 5, Malonzo 4, Asistio 2, Ildefonso 1
Magnolia 100 – Ratliffe 27, Sangalang 21, Barroca 18, Lucero 11, Abueva 8, Lee 4, Dionisio 4, Ahanmisi 4, Dela Rosa 2, Lastimosa 1, Laput 0
Quarterscores: 31-23, 50-47, 81-78, 102-100