Rain or Shine survived a hot-shooting Magnolia, 109-104, to draw first blood in Game 1 of their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

Caelan Tiongson drilled a clutch triple with 1:25 left to put the Elasto Painters ahead before tightening their defensive screws against the accurate sniping from deep of the Hotshots to take 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

Import Aaron Fuller posted a double-double of 26 points and 20 rebounds to anchor Rain or Shine which, in contrast to Magnolia, was shooting miserably from distance, finishing with 5-of-26 clip and missing all of their first 12 attempts from deep in the first half.

Jhonard Clarito also steadied the ship for Rain or Shine with 20 points including the three crucial free throws down the stretch while Adrian Nocum chipped in 14, Leonard Santillan and Gian Mamuyac with 12 apiece.

Rain or Shine, after leading for the most part of the third frame, found itself trailing by twin digits after Aris Dionisio and Jerrick Ahanmisi connected from the four-point and three-point territories.

The Hotshots kept 100-91 lead midway through the final frame when the Elasto Painters finally found a way to douse Magnolia's hot-shooting from deep.

ROS clamped down on the defensive end and fueled a strong 18-5 finishing kick in the last six minutes.

The Tiongson trey and a couple of free throws from Fuller, Caracut and Clarito gave Rain or Shine some breathing room to cushion the late efforts of Magnolia.

The Hotshots had their chances late but Mark Barroca missed a baseline jumper, Paul Lee turned the ball over, and then missed a potential game-tying four-pointer in the final possession.

Import Rayvonte Rice led Magnolia with 19 points but not enough to tow the team to a victory.