Red-hot Painters: Strong second half powers Rain or Shine
AARON Fuller powers his way to a 33-point performance that included 14 rebounds in Rain or Shine’s 124-120 win over Converge in the quarterfinal series opener of their best-of-five showdown in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Tuesday.
Photograph courtesy of PBA
Games today:
(Ynares Center-Antipolo)
5:15 p.m. — TNT vs Magnolia
7:30 p.m. — Phoenix vs NLEX
Rain or Shine came out of the halftime break like a house on fire, torching Converge in the second half in a 124-120 decision to take Game 1 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinals series on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A 42-point third-quarter explosion by the Elasto Painters got them back in the game after falling into a 21-point hole in the second period before holding on late in the final canto.
“I think the most important thing in this win is our playoff toughness. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half. We gave up too many offensive rebounds. I think in one half we gave up 14 offensive rebounds. We missed free throws. We had 13 turnovers in the first half. In total, we gave up 27 extra possessions to the other team in the first half. That was really the main problem. We gave up too many opportunities to them (Converge),” Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said.
“We said if we could solve those problems, we could get back in the game, which happened,” he added.
Aaron Fuller powered Rain or Shine with 33 points and 14 rebounds while Adrian Nocum added 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 from the three-point area, with nine assists and five rebounds.
Caelan Tiongson and Deo Cuajao had 17 and 15 points, respectively, for the Elasto Painters.
Rain or Shine shattered a 103-103 deadlock in the fourth quarter with a decisive 9-3 run for a 112-106 advantage with 5:30 left. Cameron Clark tried to will the FiberXers back, hitting a three for a 120-116 count with 18 seconds left only for Fuller and Tiongson to seal the game on the foul line.
“Coach reminded us of three things during halftime: our turnovers, our rebounding and defense. It’s the collective effort of the team that got us this win,” Nocum said.
Down, 27-48, to start the second quarter, the Elasto Painters fought back to trim their deficit to 13 entering the intermission.
Rain or Shine took its first lead of the game, 82-81, on a Cuajao triple with 6:14 left in the third quarter.
Clark got 28 points and eight rebounds, Justin Arana had 21 points while Calvin Abueva scored 16 for Converge. Juan Gomez de Liaño finished with 13 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
Meanwhile, NLEX seeks a 2-0 lead against Phoenix in Game 2 of their series today at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
The Road Warriors drew first blood with a hard-fought 97-92 escape in Game 1 last Sunday.
NLEX head coach Jimmy Alapag knows the Fuel Masters will come in firing in their 7:30 p.m. meeting to avoid going into a deeper hole.
“Phoenix has been a resilient team throughout the conference so it’s expected they will continue to play. They clawed and fought throughout,” Alapag said of the Road Warriors’ opponent that erased a double-digit deficit in the series opener.
In the other pairing, defending champion TNT is aiming to draw closer to a semifinals seat in the 5:15 p.m. clash against Magnolia.
Although seeded fourth, the Tropang 5G blew out the Hotshots, 92-70, in Game 1.
“It’s good to get this first, but we all know we have to be ready for whatever adjustments they have for Game 2,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said.
“I’m sure now they’re gonna take a look at the film and I’m sure they’re gonna make adjustments and we have to be ready,” he added.
Magnolia coach LA Tenorio remains confident his Hotshots will get back on track following the lopsided loss.
“One good thing about this, this is a best-of-five so you have a chance to get back and adjust,” Tenorio said.