Games on Wednesday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5 p.m. — Converge vs Meralco

7:30 p.m. — Magnolia vs Barangay Ginebra

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao warned his wards about Terrafirma coming at them at full might, hoping to end a winless slump.

His words proved true as the Elasto Painters flirted with disaster before disposing of the clingy Dyip, 124-112, to end their year with a four-game winning streak in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Sunday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Rain or Shine held Terrafirma scoreless for almost eight minutes to pull away in the fourth quarter which looked tight before the Dyip’s dry spell.

“It’s good to win four straight games before Christmas, before the New Year. We’re having our Christmas dinner also so thankfully this game didn’t dampen the mood,” Guiao said after his squad improved to a 4-1 win-loss record.

Deon Thompson powered the Elasto Painters with 23 points on 8-of-14 field goal shooting and grabbed 17 rebounds on top of four assists, two steals and a block.

Young guard Adrian Nocum scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half punctuated by a dagger trey from the left corner for a 120-110 lead with 1:22 left after Mark Nonoy quenched Terrafirma’s drought with a reverse layup that brought the gap down to seven.

Andrei Caracut had 15 points, Santi Santillan added 11 while Anton Asistio got 10 for the Elasto Painters, who kept the Dyip out of the win column after seven tries.

Guiao credited Thompson for doing a great job manning the painted area which changed the game’s complexion that looked going Terrafirma’s way at the start.

“We had a strong endgame. It was the finish really. We played around with the matchups. Our locals found it difficult to stop their post plays. So we tried defending that post plays with our import. We got the stops that we needed at the crucial time. That was the key,” the mentor said.

“We got into our late game transition. I thought the whole time, we’ll struggle in this game if won’t find a solution with their post game. Good thing we stopped them at the right time.”

The Dyip, which led by as many as 12 in a big first quarter explosion, unleashed a 13-0 run in the third quarter to take a nine-point lead but Rain or Shine got back into the game behind Nocum.

Terrafirma got back in front, 108-104, on a Louie Sangalang layup with 7:51 remaining in the game but would eventually go scoreless as victory continued to elude the embattled squad.

Brandon Edwards finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort for the Dyip. Sangalang tallied 21 points while Brent Paraiso and Vic Manuel added 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Rain or Shine resumes its title bid on 8 January against Blackwater while Terrafirma battles Phoenix on 7 January.