By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine played like a well-oiled machine — relentless on the transition and on target from deep — to hand league-leading Magnolia its first taste of defeat, 119-105, in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center Montalban, Sunday, May 18.
The Elasto Painters hardly showed any signs of rust after a 10-day break, stepping on the gas pedal right off the gates and then kept it that way for the rest of the contest to improve to a 4-2 win-loss record.
Adrian Nocum dictated the pace for Rain or Shine, leading the transition assaults to finish with 20 points to go with seven assists while everyone whom head coach Yeng Guiao fielded in had at least contributed one triple to the team’s 15 treys.
Leonard Santillan also had a double-double performance of 17 points and 13 rebounds on top of three blocks while Jhonard Clarito added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two rejections in an all-around effort.
Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti added 11 points even as Keith Datu chipped in 10 points for ROS, which led by as many as 23 points in the second half behind a 30-19 third-quarter scoring.
Zav Lucero tried to carry the fight for Magnolia with 17 points, but the Hotshots struggled heavily keeping up with the run-and-gun pace of the Elasto Painters.
Meanwhile, Rodney Brondial stood as if he was the size of his more decorated teammate June Mar Fajardo, dominating the glass and the paint to lead San Miguel to a 128-89 demolition of Terrafirma.
The 6-foot-5 forward was a workhorse, hauling down career-high 22 rebounds – 10 of which on the offensive end – while also contributing 16 points as the Beermen seized a solo third spot in the standings with a 6-2 win-loss record.
Brondial actually set the tone for SMB, creating multiple scoring opportunities with eight points and 12 rebounds right on the opening frame alone while CJ Perez and Juami Tiongson joined the fray to erect a double-digit advantage.
Terrafirma showed some fight, cutting the lead down to single digits and then hanging around until the intermission before San Miguel just decided to pull away with a 42-point explosion in the third quarter.
Perez had 17 points while Tiongson chipped in 13 points. Fajardo, on the other hand, seemingly gave way for Brondial, though he still finished with a double-double effort of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Mo Tautuaa also made the most of the extended minutes with 17 points after head coach Leo Austria decided to rest his starters with the game already settled by the end of the third.
