RAIN or Shine showed it got steely nerves and outplayed a veteran team in Magnolia, 113-103, in their sudden-death game for a seat in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
The Elasto Painters were off to a rough start in the highly-emotional Game 5 on Saturday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, but regrouped in the second half and proved steadier down the stretch against Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, and the rest of the more experienced Hotshots.
READ Guiao expects RoS to be better after grueling QFs vs. Magnolia
Coach Yeng Guiao and his rising team are now in the semis for the second straight conference and will meet fellow top seed TNT Tropang Giga in a best-of-seven series that is expected to be another humdinger.
The Final Four version of the season-opener kicks off on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, here are some of key takeaways in the first of two scheduled Game 5s in the conference quarterfinals.
1. MAGNOLIA’S AGE WAS EXPOSED – the Hotshots outscored the Elasto Painters on fastbreak points, 22-13, but down the homestretch, Magnolia’s defense couldn’t keep up with the quick, up-tempo plays of Rain or Shine. Young Andrei Caracut burned Paul Lee, 35, repeteadly by scoring on high-looping baskets, Calvin Abueva, 36, huffed and puffed after a strong first half and was a step or two late in defending import Aaron Fuller, while Mark Barroca, 38, was outsprinted by sophomore Adrian Nocum in their backcourt race. Incidentally, this marked the second straight conference that the Hotshots were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
2. BALANCED SCORING FOR RAIN OR SHINE – the points came everywhere for the Elasto Painters – down low, perimeter, three-point range. Seven players finished in double figures for the team led by Fuller with 26. Jhonard Clarito and Nocum each had 17, Caracut had 14, and big men Leonard Santillan and Keith Datu, added 12 and 11, respectively. Veteran Beau Belga came just two points shy of hitting double figures in scoring with eight points. Rookie Felix Lemetti and Gian Mamuyac – two guards who can score in a flick of a finger – even had a poor shooting night and didn’t play according to their numbers.
3.GABE NORWOOD A STABILIZER FOR RAIN OR SHINE IN ENDGAME – perhaps only a few may have noticed it, but playing assistant coach Gabe Norwood played 28 minutes for the Elasto Painters, his longest playing minutes for a long time. He also played until the endgame, proving a steading presence for the Rain or Shine backcourt and allowing young guns Caracut and Nocum to freely roam do their thing on offense. The veteran former Gilas team captain also took over from Nocum in taking on Magnolia import Jabari Bird on defense in the stretch run.
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