Rain or Shine regained its bearings after a horror third period to escape the blushes against Blackwater, 110-100, in the PBA Philippine Cup at Ynares Center-Antipolo last night.
Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito combined for 19 markers in the fourth as they keyed the Elasto Painters’ late recovery with a crucial 39-23 barrage that saved the day.
Coach Yeng Guiao’s charges stormed to an early 19-point tear but then lost steam as the Bossing heated up the third stanza, turning the game around with a 36-16 salvo en route to a 77-71 margin.
Blackwater even kept the upperhand at 88-85 with 6:55 left before the duo of Clarito and Nocum took over in a 16-3 bombardment that brought momentum back to ROS for good.
Nocum finished with 17 while Clarito shot 16 to back up Keith Datu’s 20 markers with eight boards as the squad rebounded from its 93-111 setback to San Miguel Beer last Oct. 19 and improved to 2-1.
It was mostly behind Datu’s early explosion that the E-Painters managed to race to 21-3 in the first, extending this to 41-22 in the second before settling for a 55-41 lead at the break.
Later, dominant TNT clobbered Titan Ultra, 130-92, to seize the solo lead at 3-1. The Giant Risers skidded to 1-3.