Rain Or Shine escaped Magnolia, 109-105, to clinch Game 1 of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors' Cup quarterfinals at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Holding onto a slim 107-105 lead with three seconds remaining, Jhonard Clarito calmly sank his two free throws for a four-point lead for the Elasto Painters.

Hotshots guard Paul Lee's attempt at the four-point line fizzled out as time expired.

"We were just trying grind it out. It's a testament of the character of the guys and they were able to come back," Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said.

"Magnolia really surprised us; they played the kind of game that we wanted to play."

Aaron Fuller had a double-double night with 24 points and 20 rebounds for Rain Or Shine, while Clarito dropped 20 points.

Rayvonte Rice scored 16 points for Magnolia in a losing effort. 

Game 2 will be on Friday in Santa Rosa, Laguna, at 5:30 p.m.