Rain or Shine survived a late scare from Blackwater to claim a 125-123 victory and secure a quarterfinals berth in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup on Saturday at Ynares Center here.
The Elasto Painters squandered a double-digit lead as the Bossing made a last-ditch attempt at stealing the game behind Sedrick Barefield before making a stop in the end to take the win.
Barefield’s contested four-point attempt went short and Rain or Shine was able to improve its record to 5-3, enough to punch its ticket to the quarters and tie Phoenix for second in Group B.
Import Aaron Fuller scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter while adding 12 rebounds and three assists to help the Elasto Painters overcome a 20-9 deficit at the start.
Blackwater Bossing’s Sedrick Barefield during a game vs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2026 PBA Governors’ Cup. -PBA IMAGES
Caelan Tiongson scored 22 and Adrian Nocum had 20 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Blackwater dropped to 3-6, which dimmed its chances of making the quarterfinals. It will now need to produce a convincing win over Barangay Ginebra on Friday for a possible chance at getting out of the group.
Barefield scored 11 of his 31 in the fourth for Blackwater while import Kentrell Barkley led the way with 35 points on top of 15 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Baskets mostly from Fuller during the fourth quarter appeared to have put Rain or Shine in safe territory with a 115-102 lead before Blackwater stormed back.
A four from Barefield and a three from Dalph Panopio put Blackwater within one, 124-123. Nocum split his free throws, missing the second, giving the Bossing a chance, but Barefield couldn’t convert before the horn.