At A Glance
- Caelan Tiongson set the tone and then Andrei Caracut put on the finishing touches as Rain or Shine ousted the Philippine Cup champions San Miguel, 113-104, to advance to the semifinals of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, May 15.
Caelan Tiongson set the tone and then Andrei Caracut put on the finishing touches as Rain or Shine ousted the Philippine Cup champions San Miguel, 113-104, to advance to the semifinals of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, May 15.
Tiongson and Caracut both caught fire from the distance for the Elasto Painters with the latter draining a booming four-pointer and the former following it up with another huge triple to help their team put the game away in the final frame.
It was actually a nip-and-tuck affair up until halfway through the fourth quarter before that sequence capped a 9-0 spurt that put Rain or Shine up, 108-97.
“We just had a good night. We felt that this is our best chance to get into the semifinals. We earned a twice-to-beat advantage pero alam namin pag pinarating namin ng Sunday ito, malamang sa malamang di na namin tatalunin so this is our best chance to beat San Miguel,” said ROS head coach Yeng Guiao.
Caracut, who had his good friend and volleyball star Bella Belen watching from the sidelines, exploded for 29 points built on six triple and a four to go with his six rebounds and five assists.
Tiongson, on the other hand, fired 23 points on top of seven assists while also shadowing SMB import Bennie Boatwright on the defensive end. Import Jaylen Johnson chipped in 23 points and 12 rebounds.
The trio combined for 17 of the team’s 19 three-point makes as ROS ended a 10-year playoff drought against SMB.
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra made quick work of Phoenix, 112-81, to also reach the semifinals.
Justin Brownlee led the way with 24 points while Scottie Thompson flirted with a triple-double with his 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
RJ Abarrientos also chipped in 16 as the Kings pulled away in a huge third quarter breakaway that saw them outscore the Fuel Masters, 26-10.