By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine pulled away in the final frame and turned back an import-less Phoenix, 117-99, to stay perfect through four games in Group B of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday, Aug. 30.
The Elasto Painters unloaded a 13-2 spurt bridging the third and fourth quarters to create the much-needed separation from a 76-all count against an undermanned yet dangerous Fuel Masters.
Aaron Fuller, without a counterpart in Phoenix who could put a body on him, feasted inside the paint with another double-double of 28 points and 22 rebounds while Adrian Nocum put up his best performance this conference with 21 points on top of three blocks.
The Elasto Painters, like in the previous game, suffered from a slow start but found a way to get the right mix of colors to paint another impressive victory that put them on a cusp of a possible first round sweep in their group.
The Fuel Masters after giving the pink slip to original import choice Jayveous Mckinnis and was forced to play all-Filipino after replacement Le’Bryan Nash measured over the 6-foot-6 height limit.
Still, the Phoenix put up a great fight as it even led by as many as 12 points, 25-13, in the opening frame behind Ricci Rivero and RJ Jazul.
As expected, they ran out of gas and couldn’t anymore keep up against the streaking Elasto Painters who had the luxury of just dumping the ball on workhorse import Fuller.
That exactly fueled the pivotal run for Rain or Shine, which erected a double-digit spread, 89-78, early in the final frame. The Elasto Painters only padded the lead from there with Andrei Caracut pouring all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter while Jhonard Clarito added 15.
Jazul and Jjay Alejandro paced Phoenix with 12 points apiece while Kai Ballungay and Rivero had 11 and 10, respectively. The Fuel Masters, however, remained winless through three games, dropping further at the bottom of the Group B standings.
