Rain or Shine suffers late meltdown vs. Tropang TNT
Tropang TNT uncorked a late rally in the fourth to defeat the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 101-98, on Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Down 85-74 heading into the final frame, TNT went on a 27-13 run to end the game and earn the victory.
"Good we were able to survive this tough game. Mabuti we won so we can have a good start," said TNT coach Jong Uichico. "When you're playing Rain or Shine, we like to defend decently, pero kailangan maka-shoot kami. Eventually, they will find ways to score."
Jayson Castro torched Rain or Shine with 19 points, 10 assists, six boards, and two blocks, including one against Pail Lee with half a minute remaining to prevent what would have been a game-tying attempt from deep.
It was also Castro's go-ahead triple with 52 seconds left that broke the deadlock to give TNT the lead for good.
"At the end of the game, it's really Jayson, diskarte na ni Jayson yun," Uichico added.
The newly-retired Gilas mainstay had a lot of help, with import Marcus Little hitting 18 points with 11 boards. Mo Tautuaa posted 14 markers, while Ranidel De Ocampo rounded up the starters in double figures with 11 points, nine boards, and four assists. Michael Madanly, meanwhile, came off the bench for 17 more points.
Dior Lowhorn led Rain or Shine with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jericho Cruz and Raymond Almazan hit 12 and 11 points, respectively. The two also combined for 18 rebounds.
JR Quinahan and Paul Lee, meanwhile, paced the bench, with the big man hitting 16 points and the super scoring guard tallying 13. —JST, GMA News