WITH a strong finishing kick, Rain or Shine fended off breakthrough-hunting Terrafirma, 124-112, to make it four in a row in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Sunday night at the PhilSports Arena.
Adrian Nocum fired nine in spearheading 26-17 closing salvo that enabled the Elasto Painters to take control for good in a roller-coaster affair that featured 18 lead changes and eight deadlocks.
In foiling the fiercest bid for a maiden win by the Dyip (0-7), the charges of coach Yeng Guiao moved up to solo second at 4-1.
"We had a strong endgame. It was the finish, really," said Guiao, whose team even faced a 12-point deficit early on.
"Hindi namin ma-stop 'yung post plays nila so we tried to defend that with our import (Deon Thompson). We got the stops we needed at a crucial time so 'yun ang susi, and we got into our late game transition."
Sponsored content:
The Dyip were still up by four early in the fourth before ROS went on a 13-0 rampage to seize a 117-108 cushion.
Thompson produced a solid 23-point, 17-rebound outing to lead ROS while Nocum finished with 21 with seven rebounds, Andrei Caracut shot 15, Leonard Santillan had 11 and Anton Asistio made 10.
Brandon Edwards dished out 26-10 while Louie Sangalang banged in 21 to pace the Dyip, who still fell short despite starting off with 37 points - the most first-quarter production for any team this season - and their best offensive game of the conference after averaging only 91.7 markers. (OL)
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 124 - Thompson 23, Nocum 21, Caracut 15, Santillan 11, Asistio 10, Malonzo 8, Clarito 7, Datu 7, Lemetti 6, Tiongson 6, Escandor 5, Norwood 2, Ildefonso 2, Belga 1, Demusis 0.
Sponsored content:
Terrafirma 112 - Edwards 26, Sangalang 21, Paraiso 16, Manuel 12, Hernandez 9, Melecio 7, Catapusan 7, Nonoy 7, Pringle 3, Olivario 2, Ramos 2, Ferrer 0.
Quarterscores: 28-37, 66-62, 98-65, 124-112
