PBA: Rain or Shine survives San Miguel rally, improves to 5-0
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ Jaylen Johnson during a game against San Miguel Beermen in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Rain or Shine Elasto Painters survived a late rally by San Miguel for a 116-112 win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Elasto Painters led by as many as 25 points before the Beermen mounted a furious fourth-quarter fightback.
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Fortunately for coach Yeng Guiao, Rain or Shine kept its composure in the endgame to improve to a 5-0 card in the conference–their best start in franchise history.
“It’s a good thing that we established a huge lead early. If we didn’t, we might’ve lost. You really can’t relax against SMB,” Guiao said.
“Our pacing got slower in the end that’s why we lost our rhythm a bit. They switched to a zone defense and it stopped our tempo. We just tried to look for solutions in those situations.”
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ Adrian Nocum during a game against San Miguel Beermen in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. –PBA IMAGES
Rain or Shine ended the third quarter with a gargantuan 95-73 lead over the Beermen.
San Miguel, however, responded with an 18-0 run to cut the deficit to 95-91 with 8:21 remaining to set up the thrilling finish.
Adrian Nocum stopped the bleeding with an inside shot with 7:59 to play to extend the Elasto Painters’ lead to six, 97-91.
With 1:40 left, the Beermen trimmed the gap to 114-109, but Jaylen Johnson answered with a short stab to give Rain or Shine a 116-109 cushion with 1:17 remaining.
Marcio Lassiter drilled his seventh triple to pull San Miguel within four, 116-112, but the Beermen failed to convert down the stretch.
Johnson and Nocum wreaked havoc for Rain or Shine with 24 and 21 points, respectively. Jhonard Clarito scored 16 while Felix Lemetti chipped in 14.
Lassiter finished with a game-high 27 points, while CJ Perez had 18 for San Miguel. June Mar Fajardo posted 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Justin Patton added 12 points and 17 boards, but the Beermen still fell to 3-3.
