Adrian Nocum’s career-high tows Rain or Shine past Phoenix; Converge avoids upset

MANILA, Philippines, May 29 ------ Adrian Nocum delivered his finest performance yet for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters as they defeated the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 109-99, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena. Nocum sizzled for a new career-high 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting to lift the Elasto Painters to their fifth win in eight matches, improving their bid for a top four finish that comes with a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals.

Like Nocum, Jhonard Clarito, Caelan Tiongson, and Leonard Santillan all put up efficient scoring performances for Rain or Shine, which led by as many as 19 points in the wire-to-wire win. Clarito backstopped Nocum with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Tiongson added 14 markers on 6-of-9 field goal clip, while Santillan finished with 12 points after going 4-of-7 from the field. For the Fuel Masters, Kenneth Tuffin topscored with 15 points, while Tyler Tio and Raffy Verano tallied 14 apiece as they suffered their third straight loss and dropped further down to 2-6 in the standings.

Meanwhile, the Converge FiberXers returned to the winning column after completing a 117-103 come-from-behind victory versus the Terrafirma Dyip in the first game of the day. King Caralipio proved to be the unlikely hero for the FiberXers as he stepped up big with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Justine Baltazar recorded 17 markers, 10 boards, and 5 assists. Alec Stockton and Justin Arana also supplied 17 points apiece, while Schonny Winston produced 16 for the FiberXers, who fought their way back from an 18-point deficit in the second quarter, 43-61.

Converge – which hiked its record to 6-4 – figured in a blockbuster trade with TNT that sent Jordan Heading to the 5G for Mikey Williams. Stanley Pringle paced the Dyip in their eighth loss in nine outings with 23 points.

The Scores

First Game

Converge 117 – Caralipio 18, Baltazar 17, Stockton 17, Arana 17, Winston 16, Racal 9, Delos Santos 6, Corpuz 5, Santos 4, Garcia 4, Suerte 4.

Terrafirma 103 – Pringle 23, Sangalang 18, Zaldivar 17, Nonoy 15, Catapusan 12, Ferrer 11, Ramos 7, Melecio 0, Paraiso 0, Hernandez 0.

Quarters: 29-39, 58-65, 88-92, 117-103.

Second Game

Rain or Shine 109 – Nocum 30, Clarito 20, Tiongson 14, Santillan 12, Caracut 8, Mamuyac 6, Asistio 5, Lemetti 4, Norwood 3, Ildefonso 3, Malonzo 2, Datu 2.

Phoenix 99 – Tuffin 15, Verano 14, Tio 14, Jazul 11, Perkins 10, Garcia 8, Ballungay 8, Camacho 6, Daves 5, Manganti 3, Cullar 3, Soyud 2, Alejandro 0, Ular 0.

Quarters: 30-25, 57-43, 90-75, 109-99.

Source: rappler.com