By REYNALD MAGALLON
Adrian Nocum erupted for a career-high 31 points – none bigger than the clutch layup in traffic late to lift Rain or Shine past Magnolia, 98-97, and stretch their winning run to three in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday, July 31.
With the Elasto Painters trailing 96-97 and usual scorers Aaron Fuller and Caelan Tiongson limited by the Hotshots defense, Nocum drove hard against three defenders, showing enough composure to get the ball up and make it with 5.6 seconds left.
Rain or Shine then held on to its defense in the final possession as Fuller and Luis Villegas did just enough to bother and force Magnolia import KJ Buffen to miss the final shot.
With the win, ROS not only stretched its winning run to three for a 3-2 slate at the end of the first round of the eliminations but also kept Magnolia’s number by winning their six straight meetings.
Nocum, after dishing out career-high 10 assists in the last game, was more aggressive on the offense this time around shooting a high 11-of-16 clip while also collaring nine rebounds and issuing four assists.
Deo Cuajao added 15 points built on three triples while Fuller despite shooting 5-of-19 clip still posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Villegas, on other hand, had 12 and seven.
Buffen paced Magnolia with 31 points but was held scoreless in the final frame. Zav Lucero added 15 and Ian Sangalang had 12 but the Hotshots still fell to a 1-3 record at the bottom of the Group B standings.
Meanwhile, RJ Abarrientos put together his best performance so far in the season-ending conference, steering Barangay Ginebra to an 84-75 victory over Meralco to snap a two-game slide.
The best player of the last conference broke out of his shooting slump and fired 19 of his 27 points in the first half to set the tone for the Kings who pounced on the absence of some key players in the Bolts lineup.
Import Riley Grigsby also had his way with 25 points, nine rebounds, a steal and two blocks for the Kings who led by as many as 19 in the first two quarters and never looked back from there.
Ginebra improved to a 2-2 record while also getting the much-needed momentum ahead of its looming clash against bitter rival Magnolia in the first of two Manila Clasico meetings in the playoffs on Sunday.
Antonio Hester held the fort for Meralco with 24 points and 18 rebounds while Chris Banchero chipped in 15. Their efforts, however, went futile in the end as the Bolts struggled to find the mark with their conference low scoring and field goal percentage at 34 percent.
Meralco ended the first round with a 2-3 slate.
