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| Adrian Nocum stepped after Jaylen Johnson was thrown out of the game. Peter Baltazar |
QUEZON CITY––Rain or Shine showed heart, even if it had to play all-Filipino in the end, as it escaped with a 112-109 win against TNT in their PBA Commissioner's Cup battle on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters lost import Jaylen Johnson with 6:20 left in the game after exchanging punches with Glenn Khobuntin following an intense battle for positioning.
Khobuntin seemed to have been a good sacrifice as the Tropang 5G banked on back-to-back threes from Kevin Ferrer and Calvin Oftana to tie the game at 99-all with four and a half minutes left.
However, ROS responded with a 7-0 run of its own to keep the lead, 106-99, with 2:55 to go.
The Tropang 5G kept the game close, and an Oftana four drew them to within one, 109-110, with 30.1 seconds remaining.
Adrian Nocum, though, got by the outstretched arms of Bol Bol and scored a high-looping layup with 9.8 seconds to go to bring the Elasto Painters' lead back to three.
Bol tried to force overtime, but his corner triple barely hit the front iron, and Felix Lemetti grabbed the game-saving rebound for ROS.
Johnson led the Elasto Painters, now 2-0 in the standings, with 33 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one block, and three steals.
However, those numbers may be dearly missed in their next game against the Meralco Bolts next Friday, also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, as the burly import could be facing a suspension for the punching incident with Khobuntin.
Nocum added 20 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists off the bench.
Bol had a relatively solid 38 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, and five blocks in his much-anticipated PBA debut, but TNT's title defense in the mid-season conference still started on a sour note.
Oftana added 19 points, 12 rebounds, and one steal.
The Scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 112 – Johnson 33, Nocum 20, Lemetti 13, Villegas 13, Mamuyac 9, Tiongson 7, Clarito 5, Malonzo 4, Caracut 4, Belga 2, Santillan 0, Asistio 0, Manaytay 0
TNT 109 – Bol 38, Oftana 19, Castro 13, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, Galinato 8, Ferrer 8, Nambatac 7, Khobuntin 5, Aurin 2, Enciso 0, Chua 0, Heading 0
QUARTERS: 25-34, 54-58, 80-80, 112-109
