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Rain or Shine racked up its third straight win with a 118-107 victory over Blackwater on Sunday in the 2016 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The win pulled the Elasto Painters at solo third with a 7-4 slate, still alive for a chance to land in the top two if San Miguel Beer loses its last game.
But head coach Yeng Guiao tried to be realistic and accepted his team’s fate of playing in one of the best-of-3 series in the quarterfinals.
“We’ll just wait for the matchups” he said. “It’s very messy right now, and there’s a lot of scenarios that are possible. But for us, now we don’t have to worry about anything. We just have to wait.”
JR Quiñahan led Rain or Shine with 15 points and six rebounds, while Jeff Chan got 12 points off the bench, five of which coming in a crucial 12-2 run in the fourth as the Painters erected a 111-98 edge in the last 3:43.
Carlo Lastimosa tried to bring Blackwater back in the game, but hits from Raymond Almazan and Chris Tiu ended the Elite’s rally.
“It was still a struggle for us in the end game,” said Guiao as he tried to break in new import Pierre Henderson-Niles. “The potential is there and his upside is good. We have a week or so to get him in game shape and jell with the team, but I think he’s a solid player.”
Henderson-Niles finished with 12 markers and six rebounds in 25 minutes before cramping up in the end.
Blackwater bowed out of the conference on a five-game losing skid to end up with a 3-8 record.
Lastimosa carried the Elite with 27 points and nine rebounds, while JP Erram went on a perfect 8-of-8 clip from the field and ended up with 20 markers and six boards.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 118 – Quinahan 15, Chan 12, Henderson-Niles 12, Ponferrada 11, Almazan 11, Teng 10, Norwood 7, Cruz 6, Lee 6, Ibanes 6, Ahanmisi 6, Belga 6, Tiu 5, Trollano 3, Nimes 2.
BLACKWATER 107 – Lastimosa 27, Erram 20, Rhett 19, Cervantes 14, Pascual 7, Cortez 6, Bulawan 5, Gamalinda 4, Sena 2, Dela Cruz 2, Reyes 1, Agovida 0.
Quarters: 29-24, 61-49, 80-76, 118-107.