Rain or Shine mounts late rally in QF opener vs. Magnolia

Top seed Rain or Shine staged a furious late fourth quarter rampage to turn things around against Magnolia, 109-105, and take Game 1 of their best-of-five quarterfinals series of PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup on Wednesday. 

The Elasto Painters crawled back from a nine points down midway through the fourth period after unleashing a wild 18-5 closing run to take the series opener and move two wins away from a semifinals berth. 

Back-to-back baskets from Zav Lucero and Mark Barroca sent the Hotshots to a 100-91 lead, but Aaron Fuller, Andrei Caracut, Caelan Tiongson, anf Jhonard Clarito connived down the stretch to fuel the comeback. 

Caracut's three-pointer over Rome Dela Rosa gave Rain or Shine the lead back at 103-102 while a pair of freebies from Fuller and a split from Caracut saw them enjoying a 106-102 cushion in the final 33 seconds. 

Lucero then fired a triple to pull Magnolia to within one, but Clarito knocked down three consecutive free throws to finish the come-from-behind act as Paul Lee missed a potential game-tying four-point shot. 

Fuller posted another huge double-double of 24 points and 20 rebounds along with four assists, one steal, and one block while Clarito scattered 20 markers, five boards, and a swat. 

"[Our] advantage was just willingness to battle. We were just trying to grind it out. Nu'ng natirahan kami ng tatlo o apat na four-point shots, a  team of weaker staff would have folded up," Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao. 

"So it's a testament to the character of the guys. We were able to come back from that."

Scores:

Rain or Shine 109 – Fuller 24, Clarito 20, Nocum 14, Santillan 12, Mamuyac 12, Caracut 9, Tiongson 9, Lemetti 5, Belga 2, Datu 2, Asistio 0.

Magnolia 105 – Rice 16, Lee 15, Ahanmisi 15, Barroca 12, Lucero 11, Sangalang 11, Dela Rosa 8, Dionisio 7, Abueva 6, laput 2, Eriobu 2, Mendoza 0, Reavis 0.

Quarters : 19-16, 51-50, 82-80, 109-105.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News