By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine flaunted its depth and clobbered NLEX, 120-104, to clinch a quarterfinal spot in a rousing fashion in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, May 3.
The fresh legs were very much evident for the Elasto Painters, who were coming off a weeklong break as six players scored in double-figures to anchor the high octane offense that left the Road Warriors in the dust.
ROS improved to a 6-5 record in the standings, enough to join three SMC teams in San Miguel, Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia in the Magic 8 while stalling NLEX’s playoff bid and denying it a shot for a twice-to- beat advantage.
Beau Belga, despite being hampered by two early fouls, led the scoring mob for Rain or Shine with 18 points – 12 of which came in the third quarter when the Elasto Painters further padded a once 19-point first half lead.
Leonard Santillan provided support 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Jhonard Clarito added 15.
Fresh from signing a new extension with ROS, Shaun Ildefonso gave a huge boost off the bench with 14 points while Andrei Caracut and Gian Mamuyac were the other Elasto Painters in twin digits with 12 apiece.
The Elasto Painters offense was simply on target right from the get go, firing 30 points in the opening quarter behind their three-point shooting and quick transition offense.
ROS followed it up with a strong second quarter where they exploded for 32 points as a team before even turning it up a notch higher in the third canto with 35 points.
When the dust settled, the Elasto Painters already erected a huge 23-point lead, 97-74, heading into the final quarter – an advantage that was never threatened even after another a huge scoring night from Robert Bolick.
Meantime, Mark Barroca delivered the killing blows as Magnolia survived a major scare from Terrafirma, 106-98, to also punch its ticket to the quarterfinals.
The veteran playmaker stepped up in the clutch and went on a personal 5-0 run inside the last 90 seconds to fend off the Dyip and improve to a 6-4 record that assured them at least a sixth seed finish regardless of the results of their remaining game on Sunday.
Terrafirma, on the other hand, closed out the elimination on a 5-6 record, putting them in tie with NorthPort on the eighth to ninth spots. The Dyip now await the results of the remaining games to determine their playoff fate.
Barroca finished with 21 points – none bigger than the booming triple and a clutch floater that gave Magnolia some breathing room 106-98 with 54 seconds left.
Ian Sangalang posted 23 points and eight rebounds while elder statesman Rafi Reavis stepped up in the absence of Calvin Abueva and also scored on timely putbacks to keep Terrafirma at bay.
The 46-year-old big man turned back the hands of time and finished with a double-double of 10 points, on a perfect 5-of-5 clip from the field, along with 13 rebounds. It was enough for him to claim the Player of the Game honors – a feat he last achieved five years ago when he posted 16 points and 15 rebounds against SMB.
