Rain or Shine flirted with disaster before breaking away late in the fourth quarter to deflate Terrafirma, 106-91, for a share of the lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup Friday night at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.
The Elasto Painters wasted a 17-point third quarter lead but found a way to shake off the clingy Dyip, igniting a 9-0 run with under five minutes left to create a double-digit gap on their way to their third straight victory.
Leonard Santillan dropped 16 of his 26 in the payoff period to power Rain or Shine to a 4-1 win-loss record tied with NLEX and TNT on top of the standings.
Santillan went 10-of-15 from the field, nailing six three-pointers, and grabbed seven rebounds. Keith Datu had 12 points, Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti and Jhonard Clarito finished with 11 points each while Adrian Nocum scored 10 for the Elasto Painters.
Rain or Shine left Terrafirma for good after entering the fourth quarter tied at 75 when Nocum completed a three-point play followed by Santillan’s jumper and a trey before Gabe Norwood’s split from the line for a 98-84 advantage in the last 3:42.
Santillan then delivered eight straight points for the coup de grace.
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao felt the win was much closer than seen in the final scoreline.
“It did not look as easy as it looked. It felt like the score was much closer. It felt like they’re just right behind us,” he said.
“We struggled with their zone but it’s a good thing our three point shots fell in at the right time. Santillan’s three-point shots were very huge. We knew the zone was coming but I guess we don’t see it as much, so we have to be prepared for it a little bit more. But what’s important was the three-point shots came at the right time.”
Rain or Shine erected its biggest advantage at 66-49 with 6:59 left in the third quarter after Norwood’s pair of charities. Terrafirma led by Jerick Ahanmisi made a scorching run and took the helm, 75-72, before Santillan swished in a trey to tie the game at the end of the quarter.
“They made a run but fortunately Ahanmisi started missing his shots in the latter part. He was really a handful. He was a problem for us just matching up. And (Paolo) Hernandez also played great,” Guiao said.
The Dyip slipped to a third loss in a row for a 1-4 slate.
Ahanmisi fired 25 points, Hernandez had 20 while JM Bravo came up with a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds for Terrafirma.