RAIN or Shine got its payback against San Miguel and Terrafirma got its first ever win in the PBA Governors’ Cup in a thrilling doubleheader Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Elasto Painters avenged their heartbreaking loss to the Beermen two weeks ago behind a 122-112 win sparked by Andrei Caracut, Beau Belga, Adrian Nocum, and import Aaron Fuller.
READ: Rain or Shine too deep, too fast for San Miguel this time around
In their first encounter this season, San Miguel edged out Rain or Shine, 113-112, on a mid-range, game-winning jumper by June Mar Fajardo at the buzzer.
Meanwhile, the Dyip savored their breakthrough in the season-opening conference with an 84-72 win over league leader TNT Tropang Giga behind Stanley Pringle’s 13 points in the pivotal fourth quarter.
READ: Pringle, Terrafirma finally break through at expense of league-leading TNT
Here are some takeaways in Rain or Shine and Terrafirma’s separate victories on Thursday night.
DOUBLE WHAMMY FOR SAN MIGUEL
The Beermen’s loss against the Elasto Painters also came with a price as import Jordan Adams appeared to have strained his right hamstring during the fourth quarter. The former UCLA stalwart never returned to the game. He was set for a checkup with doctors on Friday.
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the team, with the playoffs set to commence starting next week. Remember Adams was once replaced by the Beermen for Sheldon Mac, but was reactivated again after his replacement failed to live to expectations. Now San Miguel can’t bring back Adams again should it decide to replace him again.
DYIP ENDS LONG LOSING STREAK AGAINST TNT
The Dyip’s first win of the season also gave the team its first win over the Tropang Giga after a long while. Terrafirma hasn’t beaten TNT in the last seven seasons spanning 19 games as its last win over the telecommunication franchise was during the 2016 Governors’ Cup.
The former expansion team will now try to close out its campaign with back-to-back wins as it faces the Meralco Bolts in their final outing in the conference on Saturday.
NOT A SINGLE FREE THROW ATTEMPT FROM JUNE MAR
Was it a case of Rain or Shine playing good defense on him? Whatever, but it was a rare night for the 6-foot-10 Fajardo, who ended up not taking a single free throw during the game against the Elasto Painters.
The eighth-time MVP finished with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-13 attempts in 37 minutes of play. Surprisingly, Fajardo had no attempts from the foul line, where San Miguel finished on 16-of-18 shooting (88 percent).
The Elasto Painters meanwhile, were 24-of-38 from the same area (63 percent). The Cebuano big man was likewise surprised he didn’t get the chance to shoot free throws during the game, but would rather not make an issue out of it.
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