PBA: Rain or Shine wins third straight, tops Blackwater

Rain or Shine’s Santi Santillian.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–Rain or Shine pulled the rug from under Blackwater on Saturday, scoring a 110-103 victory in the PBA Philippine Cup.

Jhonard Clarito, Andrei Caracut and Santi Santillan figured prominently in the final period to seal the ElastoPainters’ comeback from holes as deep as 14 points and annex a third straight win.

“Santi, Beau (Belga) Johnard and Andrei—they picked up the slack for us. At the start, we were struggling to find our offense. We weren’t really in our flow,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said shortly after the win at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila, that had his club improving to 3-4 in the standings.

SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup

Rain or Shine big man Beau Belga.–PBA IMAGES

Santillan had 28 points and seven rebounds, while Beau Belga added 21 more in the scoring effort that dealt the Bossing their third straight loss after opening the conference with three consecutive wins.

Rey Suerte led all of Blackwater with 20 points, while Rey Nambatac chipped in 13 more in his first meeting against the team that drafted him and he played for nearly seven seasons.

Rain or Shine will have a chance to extend its winning ways when it battles Terrafirma Saturday next week.

Blackwater, meanwhile, takes on crowd darling a Barangay Ginebra side reeling from a botched comeback against sister team and powerhouse San Miguel Beer last Friday night. The Bossing and the crowd darlings duke it out on Friday.

The Scores:

Rain or Shine 110 – Santillan 28, Belga 21, Clarito 16, Caracut 12, Mamuyac 8, Demusis 7, Norwood 6, Borboran 6, Ildefonso 5, Nocum 1, Asistio 0, Belo 0

Blackwater 103 – Suerte 20, Nambatac 13, Kwekuteye 11, Rosario 10, Tungcab 9, Casio 9, Hill 7, Chua 6, David 6, Guinto 5, Ilagan 5, Sena 2, Escoto 0

Quarterscores: 22-28, 49-54, 80-84, 110-103