PBA: Rain or Shine stays hot, fends off Phoenix

MANILA, November 6 ------ Rain or Shine has gained the solo lead in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup. This, as the Elasto Painters remained perfect in a four-game stretch as they fended off Phoenix, 91-80 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Fuel Masters actually had a narrow 71-67 lead with more than nine minutes left in the last period, but a 13-0 run turned things around for Rain or Shine, anchored on the attack led by Adrian Nocum, Anton Asistio, and Jhonard Clarito. The Phoenix side came through once more, pulling within four as Sean Manganti converted on a basket at the 3:52 mark, 82-78, but Yeng Guiao's wards answered back with seven unanswered points, capped by a Gian Mamuyac fadeaway jumper to essentially put away the Fuel Masters.

Although they ended up with a double-digit win, Guiao asserted that it was still a close game, saying that the final score did not reflect the intensity of the match. "The score doesn't reflect the closeness of the game," Guiao uttered. "If you look at the score, it's a double-digit lead, but it's a lot closer than that."

Best Player of the Game Asistio finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 clip from the rainbow arc, three rebounds, and three assists, while Mamuyac top-scored with 22 markers to go with three boards and three dimes. Clarito and Nocum, who had their share of the limelight, also breached twin-digit scoring with 11 and 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Guiao also said that they are still assessing Keith Datu's situation, as the big man fell down earlier in the game, baring that his player has been "having issues" even before the incident.

Datu suffered an apparent injury after slipping as he drove to the rim in the third quarter. "Hindi ko pa alam exactly kung ano status niya [referring to Keith Datu], kung how serious the injury is. But he's already had issues with his knees, even before. Kaya 'yun 'yung focus namin, to strengthen his lower body. So, nangyari pa 'to ngayon," said Guiao.

On the other hand, Phoenix absorbed its fourth straight loss. Jason Perkins still had a decent night with 17 points and seven rebounds, as Manganti delivered 13 markers. Rain or Shine stakes its winning run against fellow contending NLEX on Saturday, November 8, while Phoenix hopes to regain its winning ways versus Terrafirma next week on Nov. 12.

The Scores:

RAIN OR SHINE 91 – Mamuyac 22, Asistio 20, Clarito 11, Nocum 10, Datu 9, Malonzo 6, Santillan 4, Norwood 2, Belga 2, Porter 2, Lemetti 1, Caracut 0, Ildefonso 0

PHOENIX 80 – Perkins 17, Manganti 13, Santos 9, Ballungay 9, Tio 8, Rivero 7, Garcia 6, Tuffin 6, Kwekuteye 3, Daves 2, Nelle 0, Caperal 0

QUARTERS: 21-15, 36-37, 63-63, 91-80

Source: news.abs-cbn.com