Adrian Nocum soars high as ROS finally gets over the hump vs TNT
At A Glance
- The athletic sophomore broke down the TNT defense with his daring drives, taking over for Rain or Shine to finally get on the board, 103-98, in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, March 2.
Fiery Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao instructed Adrian Nocum to drive hard to the basket instead of settling for a jumper when he missed the potential game-tying shot in the narrow Game 2 loss.
Taking the advice to heart, that’s exactly what he did in Game 3.
The athletic sophomore broke down the TNT defense with his daring drives, taking over for Rain or Shine to finally get on the board, 103-98, in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, March 2.
Nocum either scored or assisted on nine of the Elasto Painters’ last 15 points to finally get over the hump after two close losses in the first two games of the best-of-seven affair.
The high-flying guard actually made up for the crucial miss in the waning seconds of last game, firing eight of his 16 points in the final period this time around while also collecting eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.
Deon Thompson was a force inside the paint with 19 points and 15 rebounds while Caelan Tiongson chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds all while taking the primary role of putting a body against TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Engaging TNT to a nip-and-tuck affair, Nocum blew by RR Pogoy and scored a beautiful floater over Hollis-Jefferson and Glenn Khobuntin, seemingly triggering the pivotal run for ROS.
The Elasto Painters unloaded a 10-4 run to establish a 98-90 lead – a breathing room enough to cushion a late pair of four-pointers from Hollis-Jefferson.
Hollis-Jefferson had 34 points and 19 rebounds to carry the load for TNT which missed the services of veteran guard Jayson Castro. RR