Shining in Bahrain, Rain or Shine scores big win vs Magnolia

Sports

THE Rain or Shine Elasto Painters made it rain from three-point land and pulled off a convincing 101-92 win over the Magnolia Hotshots in an out-of-the-country offering of the 50th PBA Philippine Cup early Tuesday morning (Philippine time), Dec. 16, at the Khalifa City Sports Stadium in Bahrain.

Rain or Shine made more than half of their three-point attempts, going 17-of-32 from rainbow area to secure the win that gave them a crucial bonus in the quarterfinal round.

Securing a third straight victory, the Elasto Painters improved to 8-2 (win-loss) and seized the solo lead in the team standings. More importantly, the victory enabled Rain or Shine to secure a twice-to-beat incentive against its lower-ranked quarterfinal opponent.

The Top 4 teams after the elimination round will enjoy the crucial twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

Jhonard Clarito topped the Elasto Painters with 21 points on a 2-for-2 shooting from three-point territory. Caelan Tiongson shot 4-of-7 from the same distance and Gian Mamuyac made two of three three-point shots as the duo each added 14 points.

Magnolia, on the other hand, faltered in the league’s first-ever game in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Hotshots dropped to 6-4 (win-loss) that created a four-way logjam at fourth to seventh spots.

The Meralco Bolts, Converge FiberXers, and NLEX Road Warriors also hold 6-4 slates.

Mark Barroca led Magnolia with 14 points, Peter Alfaro added 13, and Juan Gomez de Liano had 12.

Magnolia’s leading scorer Zavier Lucero scored just nine points, way below his average of 17.4 points a game. It didn’t help for Magnolia that Paul Lee and Jerom Lastimosa exited early due to injuries.

THE SCORES:

RAIN OR SHINE (101) – Clarito 21, Mamuyac 14, Tiongson 14, Nocum 13, Pringle 9, Santillan 8, Porter 8, Caracut 4, Norwood 4, Malonzo 3, Belga 3, Ildefonso 0, Pangilinan-Lemetti 0.

MAGNOLIA (92) – Barroca 14, Alfaro 13, De Liano 12, Dela Rosa 10, Sangalang 10, Lucero 9, Lee 8, Koon 6, Verano 4, Laput 3, Lastimosa 3, Gomez 0.QUARTERSCORES: 27-24; 53-47; 81-69; 101-92.(CCM)