By REYNALD MAGALLON
Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito formed a deadly one-two punch as they combined for 50 to help Rain or Shine take down Phoenix, 109-99, in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, May 28.
Nocum actually put up a game-long brilliance to finish with a career-high 30 points while Clarito provided the timely hits to help the Elasto Painters keep the Fuel Masters at bay and get back on the winning track.
ROS improved to a 5-3 record and just half a game behind the Top 4.
Clarito finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds while Caelan Tiongson chalked up 14 points and eight rebounds, and Leonard Santillan 12 points.
The Elasto Painters led by as many as 19 points behind a searing first half though they still had to fend off the repeated rallies from the Fuel Masters.
Meanwhile,
Converge unleashed a huge fourth quarter flurry and frustrated Terrafirma, 117-103, to boost its playoff bid.
The FiberXers trailed for the most part of the contest and as big as 18 points before they finally got their acts together in the final frame where they limited the Dyip to just 11 to turn things around.
Converge went on a pivotal 14-6 run to open the payoff period and take a 104-98 lead – an advantage the team never relinquished after trailing 61-43 early in the second half.
King Caralipio emerged as the unlikely hero after joining hands with Alec Stockton in triggering the second half fight for the FiberXers who improved to a 6-4 record.
The two actually took turns in leading the charge for Converge with Stockton firing 10 of his 17 points in the third quarter while Caralipi had 13 of his 18 points in the last two frames of the contest.
Caralipio actually finished with a double-double after also hauling down 10 rebounds while Justine Baltazar also did a little bit of everything with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
His frontcourt partner Justin Arana also came out big with his 17 points and 13 rebounds while Schonny Winston added 16.
