REASSERTING their dominance, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters weathered the storm and subdued Converge FiberXers in a close 90-84 contest to surge to solo first place in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Montalban, Rizal.
Gian Mamuyac made it rain for the Elasto Painters as he tallied 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and a block to lead ROS to their seventh win against two losses this conference, reclaiming their spot at the top of the standings.
It was a back-and-forth action for both teams, who already have themselves assured of a quarterfinal berth. But it was Rain or Shine that seized the upper hand late in the fourth with timely baskets from Mamuyac, Leonard Santillan, and Andrei Caracut.
Down 74-75 late in the fourth quarter, the Elasto Painters dropped a 9-0 run to turn the tables against the determined Converge squad, 83-75, that was sealed by a three-pointer from Mamuyac.
Supporting Mamuyac in the scoring department, Santillan top-scored the Painters with 16 points while Caracut added 13 markers.
On the other side of the court, rookie guard Juan Gomez de Liaño paced the FiberXers with 20 points, with Larry Muyang adding 18 markers for the FiberXers that now fell to a 6-3 record.
Meanwhile, the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots imposed a superb masterclass against NLEX Road Warriors, en route to a wide 98-82 victory.
It was a total team effort for the LA Tenorio-headed team with five Hotshots scoring in double figures in the said blowout, led by the double-double performance of 18 points and 12 rebounds by forward Zavier Lucero.
Magnolia broke the game wide open in the second period with their hot-shooting from beyond-the-arc, building a 47-30 halftime lead.
The win propelled the Hotshots to a 6-3 standing, securing their place in the quarterfinals.
Hotshots will look to keep the ball rolling in their match against ROS next Monday, December 15, at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium, while the Road Warriors will try to bounce back against the TNT Tropang 5G this Saturday, December 13, at the Ynares Center, Antipolo.