Andre Caracut feels right at home now with Rain or Shine.
In his third season with the franchise that selected him in the second round of the 2021 PBA Draft, the 5-foot-11 guard has taken a more active role in the rotation of coach Yeng Guiao at times as a starter, but usually as the one who finishes the game at the point.
And that was none more obvious than in the Elasto Painters’ all-important 119-112 win over TNT Tropang Giga that clinched for them a berth in the quarterfinals of the Commissioner’s Cup.
The former UAAP Rookie of the Year out of De La Salle had eight of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and was part of the unit that went on an 11-0 run in the homestretch that finally took the fight out of the Tropang Giga.
For good measure, Caracut added four assists and two rebounds in Rain or Shine’s fifth straight win in an amazing turnaround that saw the Elasto Painters initially lost their first five games of the season.
Caracut’s numbers and huge role in the win over TNT of a game with playoff atmosphere clinched for him the PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week for the period Jan. 5-7.
The 28-year-old guard edged Meralco’s Chris Newsome in a tight voting among the men and women who cover the PBA beat for the weekly honor.
Newsome got a piece of the votes after likewise playing a pivotal role in the Bolts’ 85-80 upset of no. 1 team Magnolia in an out-of-town game in Iloilo City.
