By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine flaunted the depth of its young but talented crew to overpower skidding Terrafirma, 116-105, and boost its chances for a playoff spot in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, Dec. 23.
The Elasto Painters leaned on their balanced scoring as six players finished in double-figures to sustain their resurgence and pick up their fourth-straight victory after opening the conference with five consecutive losses.
Veteran big man Beau Belga set the tone for Rain or Shine finishing with 18 points before the young guns in Keith Datu, Jhonard Clarito, and Leonard Santillan took over in the payoff period to put the game out of the hard fighting Dyip’s reach.
Clarito unloaded 16 points – none bigger than the booming corner triple that was part of the 8-2 finishing kick of the Elasto Painters that built them a comfortable 110-99 lead with only 1:25 remaining in the game.
Tree Treadwell remained solid in manning the paint for ROS with 16 points and 19 rebounds while Santillan also chipped in 16. Andrei Caracut fired 13 on three triples while Datu posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
With the win, Rain or Shine now looked comfortable inside the playoff picture sitting at the eighth spot of the standing with a 4-5 record and could further move up with still two games – against Converge and TNT – left in their elimination schedule.
More than that, the Elasto Painters are also now a full game ahead of NLEX Road Warriors who are now at the ninth spot with a 3-6 record while their victims in the Dyip fell to a 2-7 slate.
Import Thomas De Thaey tried to carry the fight for Terrafirma but his 31-point, 14-rebound performance was not enough as Dyip’s playoff hopes were now left hanging by a thread following a six-game slump.
