Beau Belga and Aaron Fuller held their ground for Rain or Shine when it faced the June Mar Fajardo-led San Miguel in the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Two days ago, Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao was still searching for answers to the riddle that was San Miguel star June Mar Fajardo.
On Thursday night, Sept. 19, it looked like Guiao had it all figured out.
Guiao devised a plan to tame the 6-foot-10 behemoth, putting wide-bodied Beau Belga and import Aaron Fuller in front of Fajardo almost the entire time.
That eventually paid dividends for the Elasto Painters, who hacked out a 122-112 payback win over the Beermen in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup.
With Belga and Fuller doing their job, eight-time Most Valuable Player Fajardo was held to 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“Nagtulungan lang kami sa depensa. June Mar is really a handful for us. Aaron did an excellent job just putting a body on June Mar the whole game [and] itong si Beau. Pinagtulungan nila 'yung role na 'yun,” said Guiao, as his wards notched its seventh win in nine assignments to seize the solo lead in Group B it previously shared with San Miguel.
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Rain or Shine also executed what they do best: run and gun.
With young charges like Adrian Nocum and Andrei Caracut, and Gian Mamuyac leading the fastbreak assault, the Elasto Painters exploited every opportunity to score 37 points in transition.
This allowed Rain or Shine to enter the fourth period with a 97-88 advantage, which it hiked to as many as 15 points, 105-90, after Mamuyac’s floater with a little more than ten minutes to go.
San Miguel had some moments, but just could not keep up after that.
It also did not help them that CJ Perez, who led the Beermen with 27 points, fouled out with still 4:15 left to play.
As such, the Elasto Painters ended an 11-game losing streak against San Miguel dating back to Sept. 2021.
“Nangyari rin. After ng matagal na panahon, nakatsamba rin kami. Pero importante sa'min, we have a chance for first place in our group,” said the firebrand mentor.
Six players finished in double figures for Rain or Shine, with Caracut leading the charge with 22 points, eight assists and three rebounds.
Fuller contributed a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds while Belga and Nocum scored 16 points apiece.
Mamuyac and Norwood added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 122 – Caracut 20, Fuller 17, Belga 16, Nocum 16, Mamuyac 12, Norwood 10, Lemetti 8, Clarito 7, Santillan 6, Ildefonso 5, Tiongson 3, Asistio 2.
SAN MIGUEL 112 – Perez 27, Romeo 24, Adams 24, Fajardo 14, Trollano 6, Cruz 5, Manuel 4, Lassiter 3, Ross 3, Teng 2.
Quarterscores: 33-32, 61-59, 97-88, 122-112