PBA: Rain or Shine leans on young guys to dominate Terrafirma

Rain or Shine’s Andrei Caracut. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–Rain or Shine bucked the absence of its veterans on Saturday, picking apart also-ran Terrafirma for a 97-82 decision that kept its playoff hopes alive in the 2022PBA Philippine Cup.

The Elasto Painters anchored their balanced attack on its youngsters to claim a third-straight victory at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City and to improve to 4-6 in the race for a quarterfinal spot.

“We dealt with a great deal of adversity during this month. We went through a whole month of not winning, and now three wins in a row. Lessons are kind of learned through the fire and tonight is a great game for our third-team guys to get quality minutes and develop that next-man-up mentality for us,” said coach Chris Gavina, whose charges padded leads for as many as 30 points.

Sophomores Andrei Caracut and Anton Asistio both had 14 points. Santi Santillan added 13 while Rookie Shaun Ildefonso chipped in 10 more for Rain or Shine which missed veterans Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood, along with Gilas draftee Mike Nieto to health protocols.

Aldrech Ramos finished with 21 points, while three more finished in double figures for the Dyip, who suffered their 10th straight loss in the conference.

Rain or Shine hopes to end its elimination round on a winning note when it tackles Magnolia this Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Terrafirma, meanwhile, will try to avoid a winless conference when it goes up against Meralco in the curtain-raiser of that double-header.

The Scores:

RAIN OR SHINE 97 – Caracut 14, Asistio 14, Santillan 13, Ildefonso 10, Torres 9, Ponferrada 9, Demusis 8, Nambatac 7, Mamuyac 7,Clarito 3, Borboran 2.

TERRAFIRMA 82 – Ramos 21, Gabayni 12, Camson 11, Calvo 10, Munzon 9, Cahilig 7, Mina 7, Javelona 3, Balagasay 2, Gomez de Liano 0, Tumalip 0

Quarterscores: 33-18, 59-33, 78-63, 97-82