Rain or Shine lived to fight another day after pulling away late to beat TNT in Game 2 of their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal series.
Jhonard Clarito is so used to chipping in points here and there, grabbing some rebounds and playing good defense for Rain or Shine.
On Sunday, May 12, Clarito did that and more as the Elasto Painters outlasted TNT, 121-113, to force a sudden death in their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup quarterfinal showdown.
Clarito fired a career-high 29 points, highlighted by a booming triple with 1:58 to go which broke a 111-deadlock and instigated a 10-2 run that finished off the Tropang Giga. He also had seven rebounds.
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Jhonard Clarito | Photo (c) PBA
Rain or Shine thus evened its best-of-three series against TNT after the Tropang Giga took Game 1, 116-99, last Friday, May 10.
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“Ang importante para sa'kin, 'yung batang team namin, natuto nang lumaban 'pag endgame,” said Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao.
The young guns did step up when the going got tough.
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During that final stretch, Andrei Caracut and Adrian Nocum also made things happen for Rain or Shine, who also exploited the absence of TNT bigs Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (apparent knee injury) and Jewel Ponferrada (ejected for incurring his second technical in the third period).
Andrei Caracut | Photo (c) PBA
Caracut turned in 21 points, including the up-and-under move that iced the must-win match for the Elasto Painters at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Nocum and Santi Santillan added 20 points each as Rain or Shine guns to book a semifinal seat when it collides anew with the Tropang Giga on Wednesday, May 15.
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RR Pogoy continued to be a threat on the offensive end for TNT as he fired 28 points built on three triples.
Jayson Castro added 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
The Scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 121 – Clarito 29, Caracut 21, Nocum 20, Santillan 20, Mamuyac 12, Belga 6, Datu 6, Demusis 3, Norwood 2, Ildefonso 2, Asistio 0, Borboran 0
TNT 113 – Pogoy 28, Castro 17, Aurin 15, Oftana 11, K.Williams 11, Montalbo 5, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Ponferrada 4, Varilla 4, Heruela 0, Galinato 0
Quarterscores: 25-31, 62-64, 95-95, 121-113