Rain or Shine rolled to a second straight win over crowd favorite Brgy. Ginebra in the first out-of-town match of the PBA Season Governors' Cup in Candon City, Ilocos Sur.
Felix Lemetti orchestrated Rain or Shine’s attack in the final stretch to edge Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel, 73-64, and pick up its second straight win in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup on Saturday, Aug. 24.
A surprise first-rounder in the recent Rookie Draft, Lemetti proved he can perform under duress after dropping 10 points in the final seven minutes of action at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
The Elasto Painters now lead Group B.
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Lemetti's booming triple over Justin Brownlee at the 1:07 mark capped a searing 14-2 Rain or Shine rally and proved to be the dagger.
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Elasto Painters import Aaron Fuller, meanwhile, was stellar all match with his 16 points and 23 rebounds.
Andrei Caracut added 14 points on two three-pointers against the Gin Kings, who did not seem in sync yet with new guys RJ Abarrientos, Stephen Holt and Isaac Go as they opened their campaign with a loss.
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Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee also looked like he was still groping for form as he shot 7-of-21 from the field for 18 points.
Brownlee still tried to make things happen for the Gin Kings in the back-and-forth match, exploiting a mismatch downlow to give the team a 64-62 lead with 4:08 left on the clock.
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It was all Rain or Shine from there, though.
Japeth Aguilar got it going early and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks for Ginebra.
Recently minted Rookie of the Year and new Gin King Holt had 13 points, nine rebounds and two steals, while Scottie Thompson had 15 rebounds on top of four points and five assists.
Meanwhile, rookie Abarrientos had an underwhelming debut for the crowd favorite with two points on a woeful 1-for-15 shooting from the field including 0-for-8 from the three-point area.
He also had two rebounds, two steals and an assist in almost 30 minutes of action.
The Scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 73 – Fuller 16, Caracut 14, Lemetti 13, Mamuyac 9, Tiongson 5, Clarito 4, Belga 3, Ildefonso 3, Santillan 2, Nocum 2, Datu 2, Norwood 0, Asistio 0, Borboran 0.
GINEBRA 64 – J.Aguilar 20, Brownlee 18, Holt 13, Ahanmisi 5, Thompson 4, Go 2, Abarrientos 2, Cu 0.
Quarterscores: 19-16, 29-34, 51-52, 73-64