Rain or Shine’s Rence Nocum. Photo from PBA Images.MANILA — The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters pulled late away from the San Miguel Beermen post their second victory in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
The Yeng Guiao-mentored team added to the woes of the struggling SMB through a 107-93 victory during their Tuesday evening faceoff at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Rence Nocum posted 15 points, five assists, four rebounds, four steals, and zero turnovers to pace Rain or Shine to its second win in three games, while Deon Thompson and Caelan Tiongson added 18 and 14, respectively.
“Gusto na naming kalimutan yun pero kahit papano, nakabawi kami ngayon,” said Guiao of how they were finally able to get one over the Beermen after being swept in last season’s Philippine Cup.
“Motivation sa amin yon, kasi gusto naming makabalik kahit papano. Yung 37 points sa fourth quarter, that was really the pace that we wanted to play. I keep pushing to the boys that our only chance against San Miguel is to play fast. ‘Pag nakipag halfcourt ka sa kanila, wala kang chance manalo. The only chance for us is to use a pace that they are not comfortable with,” he added.
Despite facing a 72-70 deficit heading into the final period, the E-Painters found their footing in the fourth, as a Nocum triple at the 9:21 mark allowed them to overtake the Beermen, 79-78.
This started a 12-to-nothing spurt by ROS as Nocum and Keith Datu traded buckets to help build their squad an 88-78 cushion with still 6:47 left in the contest.
June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez looked to bring some life into San Miguel’s offense as the two stars brought the Beermen to within seven, 90-83, but that happened to be the nearest that they could get as Felix Lemetti and Deon Thompson went on to deliver the finishing touches that allowed the E-Painters to distance themselves by as much as 16, 103-87, later on.
Fajardo still finished with a decent 20-point, 10-rebound game, but he was limited to only 10 field goal attempts while also committing five turnovers.
Juami Tiongson added 16 markers, four boards, and three dimes, while Quincy Miller finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds before being benched in the final minutes of the game.
Unfortunately for SMB, this was their second loss in a row and they now sit at 1-2 in the team standings.
THE SCORES:
Rain or Shine 107 – Thompson 18, Nocum 15, Tiongson 14, Lemetti 12, Datu 12, Clarito 10, Santillan 9, Caracut 8, Asistio 4, Norwood 3, Ildefonso 2, Belga 0, Demusis 0.
San Miguel 93 – Fajardo 20, Tiongson 16, Miller 12, Tautuaa 10, Perez 9, Cruz 7, Trollano 7, Teng 5, Ross 3, Lassiter 3, Cahilig 1.
Quarterscores: 19-25, 47-42, 70-72, 107-93