Rain or Shine boosted its quarterfinal bid after taking care of business and handing Magnolia an 86-82 beating in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.
Veteran big man Beau Belga stepped it up big time, scoring 22 points off the bench, while new import Carl Mongomery notched a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Elasto Painters.
Rain or Shine improved to 5-5, tying Magnolia. Both teams still need to win their respective final games just for assurance of a berth in the quarterfinals.
The Elasto Painters erected a decisive 11-0 blast midway of the fourth frame to runaway with the victory.
Ed Daquioag’s floater with 6:31 remaining capped off the run and gave Rain or Shine a pivotal twin-digit lead, 80-69.
The spurt broke the 69-all deadlock with over eight minutes remaining.
Magnolia made it a bit interesting towards the end, cutting its deficit to four, 80-84, in the final minute after an 8-2 run.
Still, it was unable to capitalize as Rain or Shine was able to close out and hold off its threatening foe with key stops in the waning seconds.
Daquioag added 14 markers for Rain or Shine’s cause.
Magnolia actually opened up a double-digit lead, 29-19, at the 7:07 mark of the second after an undergoal stab from Ian Sangalang.
The Hotshots managed to hold on to a 41-35 edge come halftime.
With its strong third quarter, Rain or Shine wrestled the lead away from Magnolia, taking a 64-61 advantage into the final 12 minutes of play.
Sangalang led Magnolia in scoring with 24 points, while James Farr had a double-double with 19 points and 23 rebounds.
Mark Barroca also had a double-double for the Hotshots with 14 points and 10 boards.
The scores:
Rain or Shine 86 – Belga 22; Montgomery 20, Daquioag 14, Rosales 7, Mocon 7, Norwood 5, Nambatac 5, Ponferada 3, Torres 2, Borboran 1.
Magnolia 82 – Sangalang 24, Farr 19, Barroca 14, Lee 9, Jalalon 7, Dela Rosa 6, Herndon 3, Melton 0, Pingris 0, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 15-22, 35-41, 64-61, 86-82.
