Meltdown averted

Rain or Shine will surely hear a lot from head coach Yeng Guiao.

The fiery mentor wasn’t amused at all with how his wards flirted with disaster after allowing their imposing 18-point lead to dwindle to just three in the closing stretch of the fourth quarter against an embattled also-ran Terrafirma.

Good thing the Elasto Painters had the resolve to avert a nightmare meltdown and escape with a 94-85 win over the Dyip to boost their chances of gaining a quarterfinals twice-to-beat advantage in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Wednesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Rain or Shine weathered Terrafirma’s 30-point barrage in the payoff period for its second straight victory for a 6-3 win-loss record.

Guiao felt the Elasto Painters got a little bit complacent after entering the final canto with a 73-55 advantage.

“If you give them (Dyip) a small window, they’re going to gain confidence. It’s really different playing (against a team) without pressure for them and just trying to give a good show,” Guiao said.

Terrafirma took advantage of Rain or Shine lowering its guard and mounted a huge run to close in 83-80 with 3:33 remaining.

Andrei Caracut brought order back with a personal 7-0 blitz capped by a three-pointer with 1:44 left which allowed the Elasto Painters to regain safe distance, 90-80.

“I’ve warned them before that we should be careful because this thing could happen, and it did. It’s a good thing we’re able to hold them back,” Guiao said.

“It’s hard to shake off Terrafirma until the end.”

Jhonard Clarito led Rain or Shine’s balanced scoring with 12 points, Caracut contributed 11 markers while Santi Santillan had a near double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds.

Francis Escandor and Anton Asistio added 10 markers each for the Elasto Painters, who gave some of their main gunners Adrian Nocum, Keith Datu and Gian Mamuyac extra rest in limited minutes heading into a marquee match against San Miguel Beer in Cagayan de Oro City on Saturday.

Terrafirma kept pace with Rain or Shine in the first quarter and even led by seven early in the second period only to get outscored, 25-13, and trail by nine at halftime.

The Dyip were pummeled in the third quarter and showed life in the fourth only to falter in the end for their ninth straight defeat in 10 outings.

Louie Sangalang had 22 points while Stanley Pringle, who saw his personal scoring milestone dampened by another loss, added 18 markers, 11 rebounds and six assists.

Pringle became the 100th member of the PBA’s 5,000-Point Club — 95th local and 15th among active players — at the 4:02 mark of the second period.

The scores:

RAIN OR SHINE (94) --- Clarito 12, Caracut 11, Santillan 10, Escandor 10, Asistio 10, Mamuyac 9, Datu 8, Nocum 7, Ildefonso 7, Tiongson 3, Norwood 3, Porter 2, Malonzo 2

TERRAFIRMA (85) --- Sangalang 22, Pringle 18, Nonoy 10, Hernandez 8, Ramos 7, Catapusan 7, Melecio 5, Paraiso 5, Zaldivar 3, Hanapi 0, Olivario 0

QUARTERS: 20-21, 45-34, 73-55, 94-85