Rain or Shine came out with all guns blazing to overwhelm depleted TNT, 107-86, and arrest a two-game slide in Game 3 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters used a 33-point first quarter explosion to dictate the tempo of the game and set the tone of the blowout that cut their best-of-seven series deficit to 2-1.
Unlike in its Game 2 meltdown where it squandered an 18-point lead, Rain or Shine kept its distance and sustained its momentum to avoid falling into a deeper hole.
"Even after the loss last game. I was really happy with the effort. The effort was there. We just lost the game because we just didn't make enough free throws, just a very low percentage from the free throw line, and we made one bad decision, fouling Calvin Oftana taking a three-point shot or a four-point shot, whatever," Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said.
Anton Asistio led Rain or Shine with 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field while Caelan Tiongson had 16 markers.
Keith Datu had a double-double of 13 markers and 10 rebounds while Leonard Santillan and Adrian Nocum submitted 12 and 10 points, respectively for the Elasto Painters.
Rain or Shine also took advantage of the grand slam-seeking Tropang 5G playing sans top guard RR Pogoy after sustaining a hamstring injury in Game 2.
The Elasto Painters erected their biggest lead, 86-57, after a Mike Malonzo layup with 11:46 left in the final period.
Rain or Shine aims to equalize on Wednesday in Game 4 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Calvin Oftana had 16 points and eight rebounds for TNT.
Simon Enciso and Glenn Khobuntin had 12 each in a lost cause.
The Tropang 5G is also expected to miss Pogoy for a second straight match in Game 3.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE (107) ---- Asistio 24, Tiongson 16, Datu 13, Santillan 12, Nocum 10, Caracut 8, Norwood 6, Malonzo 6, Mamuyac 5, Porter 4, Clarito 3, Ildefonso 0, Escandor 0
TNT (86) --- Oftana 16, Khobuntin 12, Enciso 12, Vosotros 9, Galinato 8, Williams 8, Heading 7, Aurin 4, Erram 4, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Varfilla 0, Nieto 0, Ebona 0
Quarters: 33-15, 51-37, 84-57, 107-86