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Rain or Shine achieved their third consecutive victory in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup after clinching a close 70-68 victory against NorthPort Batang Pier on Sunday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena.
Rey Nambatac hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to give his team victory as the Elasto Painters advance to 3-0, tying TNT Tropang Giga for first place in the standings.
Rookie Adrian Wong led Rain or Shine’s charge with 15 points off the bench. The greedy forward did a bit of everything by scoring three triples, while adding two rebounds and two assists.
“My teammates really believed in me. In fact, we believe in all of us,” Wong said as he won Best Player of the Game honors. “We are 15 meters deep. Any of our team could take off.”
Sidney Onwubere had 11 points and five rebounds, while Nambatac had 10 points, six rebounds and six dimes. The Elasto Painters held a whopping 48-19 point advantage on the bench.
It was a low-scoring battle for the two squads highlighted by an atrocious performance on shots after half time. Rain or Shine racked up 14 points in the third quarter, while NorthPort had just two points, tying a league record for the fewest points in a period.
“Today was a really ugly victory for us,” said RoS head coach Caloy Garcia. “He wanted a better game from us, a better production from all of us.”
Despite struggling to score in the third period, NorthPort remained resilient down the stretch. Christian Standhardinger’s last bucket with 3.3 seconds left tied the game at 68-68. Unfortunately for the Batang pier, Nambatac was fouled at the other end and sent to the charity band. They still had one last chance, but Sean Mangati missed a desperate triple to the horn.
The trio of Standhardinger, Garvo Lanete and Sean Anthony scored 13 points each for Batang Pier on a losing effort.
With NorthPort still looking for its first win after three contests, Rain or Shine, meanwhile, is looking to recharge and stay perfect to face the Alaska Aces next Thursday.
“It was an ugly game for us. I think we could do better,” Garcia said. “We just have to review what went wrong. Maybe fatigue is hitting us because we just played, this is our third game in a row. That’s why we rotated so many players today.”
THE SCORES
Rain or sun 70 – Wong 15, Onwubere 11, Nambatac 10, Mocon 6, Doliguez 6, Belga 5, Yap 5, Torres 5, Arana 3, Norwood 2, Ponferada 2, Rosales 0, Borboran 0
NorthPort 68 – Lanete 13, Anthony 13, Standhardinger 13, Nabong 10, Taha 4, Cruz 3, Revilla 7, Manganti 3, Subido 0, Elorde 2, Guinto 0,
Quarters: 14 – 25, 32 – 38, 46 – 40, 70 – 68
EXTRA JARS
Batang Pier’s production of two points in the third period tied the all-time record for the fewest points in a quarter, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon. Geneva (2003) and Mobiline (2001) were the other teams that had the lowest score in a period.
NorthPort, which entered the bubble with the smallest contingent, sent just 11 players on Sunday when Kevin Ferrer was left out due to a foot hemangioma, while Jonathan Gray is still recovering from a knee injury.
NEXT GAMES
Rain or Shine vs Alaska Aces on Thursday, October 22 at 6:45 pm
NorthPort vs NLEX Road Warriors on Wednesday, October 21 at 4:00 pm
