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Rey Nambatac sent the game into an extra session and Beau Belga delivered the final kick as Painters Rain or Shine Elasto clinched an 85-82 overtime victory over Barangay Geneva San Miguel on Tuesday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena.
Nambatac hit a tough three-point shot with 2.1 seconds left to tie the game at 76. Gabe Norwood then made a key defensive save to thwart a potential game-winner from Geneva, sending the game into overtime.
In the extra period, Belga took over. The veteran big man converted on consecutive hits, including a gutsy triple, to give Rain or Shine an 83-78 lead with a minute and a half remaining. Pringle responded with a shot of his own, but Jewel Ponferada pushed the Elasto Painters’ lead to 85-80, essentially sealing the victory with 5.3 ticks remaining.
Belga was aggressive throughout the game and finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Nambatac, meanwhile, only scored eight points on 2 of 12 shots, but he has been the man his team turns to in the deciding moment.
“As I said from the beginning, Rey is a different type of player. He will be the future of the PBA. Eventually he will be a superstar. He likes that position where he will take those shots,” Rain or Shine said. coach Caloy García.
“He took another shot to get us into extra time, but it’s a team effort. It’s not just him we’re looking at, other players stepped up today. Beau, being the team leader, this is probably the best. game I’ve seen him play, “he added.
Behind the heroics of Nambatac and Belga’s leadership, Rain or Shine also had several players take over. Mark Borboran posted 16 points in a 7-of-10 clip, Kris Rosales got off to a good start to score eight points, and Javee Mocon did a little bit of everything to finish with 12 points, eight rebounds and four dimes. Even veteran star James Yap contributed 13 points as a starter.
“Today we were lucky to get into overtime and win the game,” Garcia said. “But we could easily have been 1-4. All of our games are closed, so that says a lot about our players. But every game we have to prepare, unlike in Manila, we had a lot of time to prepare, here they only give you two hours. of practice, two and a half hours, but [make] get the most out of it. But like I said, the advantage in the bubble is probably that we stick together. “
For Geneva, Stanley Pringle and Scottie Thompson did the heavy lifting. Pringle had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Thompson had a 21-10-5 stat line.
Rain or Shine gave Guinevere their second loss in a row as they improved to a 4-1 record.
THE SCORES
RAIN OR BRIGHTNESS 85 – Belga 20, Borboran 16, Yap 13, Mocon 12, Rosales 8, Nambatac 8, Onwubere 3, Norwood 3, Ponferada 2, Wong 0
BARANGAY GENEVA 82 – Thompson 21, Pringle 20, Aguilar 13, Tenorio 10, Devance 6, Caperal 5, Mariano 3, Dillinger 2, Chan 2 Tolentino 0,
Quarters: 24-15, 45-36, 61-57, 76-76, 85-82
ADDITIONAL JARS
Geneva entered with a touchdown average of 97.6 (47 percent on the field) in his first five games. Against Rain or Shine, the Gin Kings were limited to 82 points while shooting 38 percent from the field.
James Yap averaged just 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in four games before making a 13-point start as a starter.
NEXT GAMES
Geneva vs San Miguel Beermen, 6:45 pm on October 30
Rain or Shine vs Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, 6:45 pm on October 31