Phill News Entertainment – Phill News
MANILA, Philippines — The rain-hit Elasto Painters upset the Magnolia Hotshots, 113-103, in Game 5 of their quarterfinal series at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Saturday night to advance to the next round of the PBA Governors Cup.
With the win, the Elasto Painters will face the TNT Tropang Giga in the best-of-seven semifinals.
Aaron Fuller dominated from the inside with 26 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jonard Clarit and Adrian Nokum contributed 17 points each.
The game was too close for either team to get comfortable. The Rain or Shine held a two-point lead, 85-83, early in the fourth quarter.
But the Elasto Painters slowly closed the game with a 7:2 run early in the final period, and a layup by Nokam made it 92:85.
Rain or Shine held onto that lead until Jabari Bird cut it to 2-0 (99-101) with 5:32 left in the game.
But Andrei Karakat and Fuller teamed up for a 10-2 run that gave the winning team an unstoppable eight-point lead (111-101) with 24 seconds left in the game.
“What I’m most proud of for them is that they just fought through this difficult time and didn’t let the pressure get to them.” “The boys just showed their fighting spirit,” said Rain or Shine head coach Yen Guiao.
“It’s an advantage to win the first game because we played so well… it’s an advantage to adapt. If you win the first game you can adjust in front of the other team. So we have an advantage and we have to adapt,” he added.
The Elasto Painters defense was top-notch, forcing 20 turnovers to Magnolia’s 12.
Rain or Shine’s transition game was also on full display as they racked up 22 fastbreak points to the Hotshots’ 13.
Karakat finished with 14 points and four rebounds for the Elasto Painters. Santi Santillan and Keith Datu contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. Bird’s 23-point, 15-rebound double-double wasn’t enough to lead the Hotshots to the win. Calvin Abueva and Jerrick Ahanmisi added 16 points and 15 assists, respectively.
