By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine only leaned on what they think they do best to beat San Miguel – run.
And behind the signature fast-paced assault, the young legs of the Elasto Painters spelled the difference as they went on a huge fourth quarter breakaway to eke out a 107-93 victory in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Adrian Nocum spearheaded the attack for the ROS which unloaded a back-breaking 12-0 run in the final frame to turn a 76-78 disadvantage into an 88-78 cushion – a lead that the team managed to protect until the final horn.
SMB is now the second formidable team to fall into the hands of ROS after it also handed guest team Eastern its first loss last week after opening the mid-season conference with a loss to Meralco.
The Beermen, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling to find the perfect formula after absorbing a second-straight defeat after squandering a 19-point lead and dropping the contest against the NLEX Road Warriors last time out.
ROS import Deon Thompson led the scoring for ROS with 18 points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals all while battling foul trouble largely due to his tough assignment against June Mar Fajardo.
Nocum had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead the ROS young guns who made their presence felt in the game.
Rookies Felix Lemetti and Caelan Tiongson had 14 and 12 respectively while sophomore Keith Datu and third year guard Jhonard Clarito had 12 and 10.
Meanwhile in the first game, Eastern turned to its stifling defense in the third frame to turn back Blackwater in a low scoring affair, 84-75.
The Hong Kong-based crew trailed by double figures in the first half but got its bearings going particularly on the defensive end where they limited the Bossing to just nine points while erupting for 27 in the third frame.
Eastern turned the tables and took control of the contest from there to improve to a 4-1 record after a surprising import switch that saw them tap the services of Canadian Chris McLaughlin in lieu of Cameron Clark who played in the team’s first four games.
The 6-foot-10 center introduced himself to the PBA fans in a fiery fashion, unloading 32 points and hauling 23 rebounds although he also got ample support from Eastern locals with Glen Yang and Kobey Lam both finishing with double figures.
Yang finished with 14 points and seven rebounds as Lam added a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards for Eastern, who kept Blackwater winless through three games.
In contrast to McLaughlin, Blackwater import George King lacked the supporting cast as another explosive showing of 41 points and 12 rebounds go for naught.
No other player reached the double-figure mark for the Bossing with rookie Sedrick Barefield and Rey Suerte the best local scorers with only nine apiece.
King had 31 of his output in the first two quarters – a huge reason why the Bossing took a 49-39 lead at the half.
The Scores
First Game: EASTERN 84 – McLaughlin 32, Yang 14, Lam 10, Guinchard 8, Xu 7, Cheung 5, Cao 4, Blankley 2, Pok 2, Chan 0, Zhu 0
BLACKWATER 75 – King 41, Barefield 9, Suerte 9, Chua 4, Kwekuteye 4, David 4, Ilagan 3, Ponferrada 1, Casio 0, Hill 0, Guinto 0, Escoto 0
QUARTERS : 23-21, 39-49, 66-58, 84-75
Second Game:
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
QUARTERS : 19-25, 47-42, 70-72, 107-93
