RAIN or Shine showed uncanny maturity in the endgame to survive Magnolia, 102-100, Thursday as the former kept its streak going in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Doing away with their old practice of fading after losing a sizable lead and then falling behind in the closing minutes, the Elasto Painters showed grit and poise through a 13-0 run that enabled them to hurdle the tough stance put up by the Hotshots.
As a result, Rain or Shine racked up its third straight win for a 3-1 card that put it alongside idle Meralco at joint third in the standings.
More important for coach Yeng Guiao is the character showed by his team after losing as much as a 13-point third quarter lead and then falling behind by 89-100, going to the last 6:03 of play. "Gusto ko 'yung ipinakita naming laban," he said.
"For the most part of the first half and the third quarter we had the game under control. Kaya lang nawala 'yung momentum sa amin patapos nu'ng third quarter, napunta sa kanila. The good thing about this is, ang ganda nu'ng balik namin. Nabalikan pa namin iyon," added Guiao.
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"Usually, kung 'yung dating team namin, pagka nag-collapse ka na ng ganoon hindi na kami makabalik. Pero ito I see it as a good sign. Yes, we lost momentum, nakuha nila 'yung lead. Sabi ko, wala na, baka hindi na kami makabalik. Nakabalik pa rin. So ibig sabihin, nag-iiba na 'yung character ng team. It's a good sign.
"But that's really the way to win a game, eh. Kung nawalan ka ng momentum you must find a way to get back into the game and that's what we did. That's why if for that alone magandang panalo ito kahit hirap kami."
The loss was Magnolia's fourth straight, dropping it to 1-4. But not after its own gutsy stand that was dampened in the end by Ricardo Ratliffe getting saddled by foul trouble before picking up his sixth with still 2:46 to go and the Hotshots as a whole blowing opportunities after Adrian Nocum's basket made it a 102-100 count.
Magnolia still had the chance to steal the win but Jerom Lastimosa missed a four-pointer just before the final buzzer.
Deon Thompson led Rain or Shine with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Santi Santillan recorded 17 points, the bulk coming off four triples which he all boomed in in the first half that gave the E-Painters to stretch their lead to a high of 77-64.
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A large share of the limelight should fall on Andrei Caracut, who scored 10 of his 15 points in less than four minutes to spark and fuel Rain or Shine's decisive run. He capped his heroics with a four-pointer that knotted the count for the last time at 100 before Nocum's basket off a Santillan steal.
Ratliffe still led everybody with 27 points and 13 boards while Ian Sangalang added 21 points and Mark Barroca 18 for the Hotshots, who saw Zavier Lucero and Paul Lee return to action from injuries. (NC)
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.
QUARTERS : 31-23, 50-47, 81-78, 102-100
