Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao was right when he confidently said that the odds favored his team heading into the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals despite playing in a venue where the Elasto Painters dropped their first three trips.

Import Deon Thompson came three assists shy of a triple-double, Adrian Nocum had another explosion and Beau Belga made good use of his limited minutes in Rain or Shine’s 112-103 win over Converge to complete a come-from-behind best-of-three series win for a semifinals ticket Sunday night at the Ynares Center.

The Elasto Painters picked the perfect time to snatch a victory in Antipolo for the first time in the mid-season tournament after four visits.

“We’re very happy. This is what we’ve been trying to achieve. In the past two conferences, we made the semifinals so it would be a pity if we did not make the semifinals this conference,” Guiao said after Rain or Shine advanced to their third straight semis appearance.

Rain or Shine carried the momentum of their Game 2 equalizer to forge a best-of-seven semis meeting firing off later this month against familiar foe TNT. The Tropang Giga eliminated the Elasto Painters in the semis on their way to annexing a second straight Governors’ Cup title last year.

Thompson submitted a personal conference-high 34 in an efficient 16-of-20 shooting from the field, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists on top of three blocks and two steals for an all-around performance for the Elasto Painters.

Nocum finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 field goal shooting, Andrei Caracut had 14 points and six dishes while Jhonard Clarito scored 11 for Rain or Shine.

However, it was the bulky veteran Belga who sparked a crucial run at the start of the payoff period that allowed the Elasto Painters to take full control of the match after ending the third canto with a slim three-point lead.

Belga knocked down back-to-back triples and ignited an 11-3 run capped by a completed three-point play by Nocum for a 91-80 Rain or Shine lead with 9:45 left in the game. Belga finished with six points on a 2-of-2 field goal clip in over just six minutes of play.

Caracut gave the Elasto Painters their biggest lead, 94-82, as they held off the FiberXers’ repeated comeback attempt behind the hot hands of Alec Stockton.

Guiao lauded his wards for pulling through despite losing the series opener.

“It’s also a validation of the hard work that these guys put in, the togetherness and camaraderie that they have. It’s also a testimony of the progress of the team in general, to be in the semifinals for three consecutive conferences. For an independent team to be able to do that, I think it indicates we have some consistency performing as a team,” he said.

“My take here is if you hang around long enough maybe we’ll make it to the finals.”

Stockton had 26 points and six assists to pace Converge, which was for the second straight conference lost a quarterfinals rubber match as a breakthrough Final Four eluded the franchise once again.

Cheick Diallo, troubled by five fouls that took him out for the majority of the third quarter, had 19 points but was scoreless in the final period and pulled down 13 rebounds for the third-seeded FiberXers.

Justine Baltazar got 16 points, Justin Arana scored 15 while Schonny Winston posted 14 points.

The scores:

RAIN OR SHINE (112) — Thompson 34, Nocum 25, Caracut 14, Clarito 11, Asistio 7, Belga 6, Datu 5, Tiongson 5, Santillan 4, Malonzo 1.

CONVERGE (103) — Stockton 26, Diallo 19, Baltazar 16, Arana 15, Winston 14, Racal 7, Heading 3, Andrade 3, Santos 0, Cabagnot 0, Caralipio 0, Delos Santos 0, Javillonar 0.

Quarters: 22-21, 50-45, 80-77, 112-103.