RAIN or Shine overcame an early double-digit deficit behind its sizzling shooting in the second half to deny Converge, 124-120, in the opener of their PBA 50th Season Governors Cup quarterfinal playoff on Tuesday night.
Import Aaron Fuller, Adrian Nocum, Caelan Tiongson, and rookie Deo Cuajao found their rhythm in the third period, drowning the FiberXers in a hail of three-pointers to turn around a game where the Elasto Painters trailed by as many as 48-27.
Fuller finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds while Nocum had 26 for Rain or Shine, which shot red-hot 50 percent from three-point range (16-of-32) in Game 1 of the best-of-five series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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Nocum shot a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown to make up for his 8 turnovers.
The game was still tied at 103 when the Elasto Painters went on an 11-5 run to finally take control, 114-108.
But it was the Elasto Painters’ big third quarter run that allowed them to catch up with Converge, scoring 42 points during that stretch compared to the 28 of the FiberXers.
“It was just the playoff toughness of the guys, it’s just the ‘buwis-buhay’ attitude namin,” said coach Yeng Guiao about his team being able to come back from that 21-point second quarter deficit.
Fuller had 11, Tiongson 10, and Cuajao 13 during that third quarter turnaround which had Rain or Shine finally on top going to the final period, 97-96.
Tiongson finished with 17 and Cuajao 15 for the Elasto Painters, who also got nine assists courtesy of Nocum.
After comiing out hot in the opening half, Converge import Cam Clark was finally held down by Rain or Shine and ended up with 28 points and eight rebounds.
Justin Arana added 21 points and Calvin Abueva had 16 and was responsible for the FiberXers’ fast start when he scored 12 points in the first quartet.
Top Rookie of the Year candidate Juan Gomez De Liano had a quier all-around game of 13 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. He was held to a 5-of-15 shooting from the floor.
The scores:
Rain or Shine (124) - Fuller 33, Nocum 26, Tiongson 17, Cuajao 15, Clarito 8, Caracut 7, Malonzo 6, Villegas 6, Lemetti 4, Manaytay 2, Pringle 0.
Converge (120) - Clark 28, Arana 21, Abueva 16, Gomez de Liano 13, Tungcab 12, Stockton 12, Policarpio 10, Baltazar 3, Williams 3, Garcia 2, Concepcion 0.
Quarterscores: 25-41; 55-68; 97-96; 124-120.
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