Rain or Shine downs Terrafirma for fourth straight win

Rain or Shine extended its winning streak to four after defeating Terrafirma, 124-112, on Sunday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Philsports Arena.

The Dyip were leading 108-104 with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth period before the Elasto Painters made a 13-0 run to get a 117-108 lead with less than four minutes left. Mark Nonoy broke the scoring dry spell for the Dyip but Adrian Nocum answered with a triple to extend Rain or Shine's lead to 10 with 1:22 left. Time sided on Rain or Shine as free throws from Andrei Caracut and a late basket from Caelan Tiongson sealed the victory.

Terrafirma led by as much as 12, 37-25, in the first period before Rain or Shine claimed a 66-62 lead at the end of the first half.

"We had a strong end game, it was the finish really. We played around with the matchups. 'Yung locals namin, hindi ma-stop ang post-plays nila so we tried defending that with our import. We got the stops that we needed at a crucial time so 'yun ang susi doon," head coach Yeng Guiao said.

"It is good to win four straight games before Christmas, before the new year."

Import Deon Thompson had 23 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block, while Adrian Nocum led the locals with 21 points, seven boards, two assists, and a block as Rain or Shine improved to 4-1.

Brandon Walton-Edwards had 26 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block, while Louie Sangalang had 21 points as Terrafirma remained winless in seven games.

Scores:

Rain or Shine 124 -  Thompson 23, Nocum 21, Caracut 15, Santillan 11, Aistio 10, Malonzo 8, Clarito 7, Datu 7, Lemetti 6, Tiongson 6, Escandor 5, Norwood 2, Ildefonso 2, Belga 1, Demusis 0.

Terrafirma 112 – Edwards 26, Sangalang 21, Paraiso 16, Manuel 12, Hernandez 9, Melecio 7, Catapusan 7, Nonoy 7, Pringle 3, Olivario 2, Ramos 2, Ferrer 0.

Quarters:  28-37, 66-62, 98-65, 124-112.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News