Rain or Shine kicks Blackwater from playoffs contention

The Rain or Shine Elastopainters recovered from their three-game skid to defeat the Blackwater Elite, 82-71, in the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round on Sunday.

A Javee Mocon basket at the 1:43 mark of the final period gave the Elasto Painters a 16-point headway, 79-63, into the late stretch of the game.

Diego Dario and Matt Salem's consecutive triples trimmed their deficit to 10 with less than a minute left, but time was not on the Elite's side. Clint Doliguez drilled another trey to seal the victory and keep Rain or Shine's playoff bid on track.

Coming off a 38-34 lead at the end of the first half, the Elasto Painters stormed the third period with 25 points and limited the Elite to 11 to close the frame with a 63-45 advantage.

Mocon led the E-painters with 19 markers and 13 boards.

With Rain or Shine's win, Blackwater, together with NorthPort and Terrafirma, were eliminated from the playoffs contention.

The Elasto Painters now has a 5-4 record and are tied with San Miguel, Meralco, and Magnolia at the fifth spot of the league standings.

Rain or Shine still has TNT and Phoenix for its remaining games.

Blackwater (2-7) will close out their campaign with Phoenix on Monday and Magnolia on Wednesday. — LA, GMA News

Box scores:

Rain or Shine 82 – Mocon 19, Belga 14, Arana 8, Doliguez 8, Borboran 7, Norwood 7, Onwubere 5, Wong 5, Nambatac 5, Ponferada 0, Rivero 0, Rosales 0.

Blackwater 71 – Belo 15, Sumang 11, Canaleta 11, Escoto 10, Tolomia 4, Gabriel 4, Dario 3, Salem 3, Dennison 3, Daquioag 2, Golla 2, Magat 2, Trollano 1, Shaw 0.