Rain or Shine’s Jhonard Clarito.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–With its top gun frosty once again, Rain or Shine on Sunday turned to its youth brigade to slip past TNT, 121-113, and bring their best-of-three PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal race to a decider.
Jhonard Clarito set the tone early while Andrei Caracut put the finishing touches on the Elastopainters’ conquest of the Tropang Giga that leveled the short series to a game apiece.
“The most important thing here is our team—a young team—is finally learning how to play in the end game,” said head coach Yeng Guiao, who also drew big performances from Santi Santillan, Adrian Nocum, and Gian Mamuyac—all of whom have been playing in the league for five years or less.
READ: PBA: TNT pummels Rain or Shine for 1-0 quarterfinals lead
Clarito finished with 29 points and seven rebounds, his scoring outburst built on a 5-for-5 three-point shooting. Caracut, who was just as crucial in dousing the Tropang Giga’s fightback down the stretch, delivered 21 more.
Nocum and Santillan both finished with 20 points, filling the gap in scoring left by Beau Belga, the club’s top scorer this conference. The veteran big man wound up with just 6 points, his second-straight lackluster outing this series.
READ: PBA: Old reliable Beau Belga still flourishing for Rain or Shine
Roger Pogoy had 28 points, Jayson Castro 17, and Kim Aurin 15, as the perennial title contenders sputtered with Calvin Oftana limited to just 11 points.
Kelly Williams also finished with 11 points, his numbers unable to offset the early exit of Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, who had to be carried off after hurting his knee in the opening period.
“In this game, we showed our maturity. And perhaps we were lucky, too, as they missed certain players. There was a small window and it was on to go through it. We just took advantage of the situation,” Guiao said.
Rain or Shine will try to bundle out TNT in the rubber match that could be played this Wednesday.
The Scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 121 – Clarito 29, Caracut 21, Nocum 20, Santillan 20, Mamuyac 12, Belga 6, Datu 6, Demusis 3, Norwood 2, Ildefonso 2, Asistio 0, Borboran 0
TNT 113 – Pogoy 28, Castro 17, Aurin 15, Oftana 11, K.Williams 11, Montalbo 5, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Ponferrada 4, Varilla 4, Heruela 0, Galinato 0
Quarterscores: 25-31, 62-64, 95-95, 121-113.