Mo Charlo met by his teammates. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Mo Charlo was impressive in his debut for Rain or Shine last night and the Elasto Painters put themselves in the middle of the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup pack after rallying from 18 points down to trip San Miguel Beer, 108-105, at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Charlo, Rain or Shine’s third import, fired 35 points and had 13 rebounds and more than held his own against the yardstick of imports in Tyler Wilkerson, leading the Painters’ strong finish for a second straight victory in a 3-3 card.
It was the first loss in the last four games for the Beermen, who dropped to 3-2 overall. San Miguel lost June Mar Fajardo to a knee injury early in the third quarter, and this was not lost on Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.
“We got a big break when June Mar injured himself, or he accidentally got injured by a teammate,” Guiao said. “That’s the biggest break for us.”
Charlo scored six of the last 10 Rain or Shine points to cap a two-way performance that surprised Guiao. The ex-NBA D-League standout also played defense on Wilkerson practically the entire night.
“I didn’t expect as much (from Charlo),” Guiao said of his import, the team’s third after original pick Wayne Chism and NBA first-round pick Antoine Wright. “He can still get better. He’s still learning to play with the team.”
Al Thornton scored 38 points and had 12 rebounds last night, powering NLEX to a 104-99 victory over Meralco that effectively knocked the Bolts out of the tournament lead in the first game.
Thornton scored 30 of his output in the middle two quarters, helping the Road Warriors recover from a bum start. An avalanche of 20 third-quarter points by the import had NLEX zooming away for its third win in six starts.
“We tried to make sure that he got his touches,” NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez said. “We executed our game plan for Al, but credit goes to our defense also.”
Fernandez bared that Thornton was not in the perfect frame of mind during their previous game because his pregnant girlfriend was not feeling well.
The loss was the second straight for the Bolts, who dropped to 5-2 and yielded the pace to idle Alaska (4-1).
The scores:
First Game
NLEX 104—Thornton 38, Lanete 14, Alas 10, Anthony 9, Taulava 8, Khobuntin 7, Villanueva E. 7, Enciso 6, Villanueva J. 3, Reyes 2, Borboran 0, Arboleda H. 0.
MERALCO 99—Onuaku 16, Amer 14, Dillinger 14, Alapag 11, Ferriols 10, Newsome 10, Faundo 8, Hugnatan 8, Hodge 4, Bono 2, Caram 2, Buenafe Ronjay 0, David 0.
Quarters: 24-31, 50-57, 81-79, 104-99
Second Game
RAIN OR SHINE 108—Charlo 35, Quinahan 15, Ahanmisi 13, Tiu 13, Chan 12, Cruz 6, Ponferada 5, Belga 4, Lee 3, Norwood 2, Almazan 0, Ibanes 0, Trollano 0.
SAN MIGUEL BEER 105—Wilkerson 33, Lassiter 18, Cabagnot 18, Ross 12, Santos 10, Espinas 4, Fajardo 4, Lutz 4, Semerad 2, Arana 0, De Ocampo 0.
Quarters: 32-14, 46-44, 76-76, 108-105