RAIN or Shine outsteadied NLEX down the stretch to pull off a 110-100 win and catch the last bus to the quarterfinals of the PBA Commissioner's Cup on Sunday at the Philsports Arena.
The Elasto Painters used an 11-2 run fuelled by five straight points by guard Andrei Caracut to break a close 87-all contest and make it a 98-89 lead with 2:53 left.
A Leonard Santillan three-pointer from the corner off a Caracut assist gave the Elasto Painters a 12-point lead at the 2:46 mark to take the fight out of the Road Warriors.
Rain or Shine is in the playoffs for the first time since last year's Philippine Cup bubble in Bacolor and its first under comebacking coach Yeng Guiao.
As the No. 8 seeds, however, the Elasto Painters face the top-seeded Bay Area Dragons in the playoffs.
But the Dragons can wait as the Elasto Painters savor what Guiao referred to as an important part of the team's bid to reclaim lost glory.
"Malaking bagay sa amin ito kasi after three conferences ngayon lang ulit kami nakapasok ng quarterfinals," said Guiao of the all-important win gained at the expense of his former team.
"Mas mahirap pa nga ngayon kasi nadagdagan yung teams, pero yung slot sa quarterfinals hindi naman nadagdagan. So mas mahirap makapasok (sa playoffs)."
Import Ryan Pearson finished with 24 points and nine rebounds, Caracut added 19 on 3-of-5 shooting from downtown and seven rebounds, while rookie Gian Mamuyac had 15 for Rain or Shine, which was cheered on by co-team owners Raymund Yu and Terry Que in a rare appearance at the Pasig venue formerly known as ULTRA.
NLEX got 37 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists from import Earl Clark, while Justin Chua scored all of his 12 points in the fourth quarter including the lay-up that tied the count for the last time at 87.
The Elasto Painters then went on and put together the game's telling run.
The NLEX loss also spoiled the double-double of Don Trollano, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Kevin Alas added 13 and eight rebounds.
The scores:
Rain or Shine (110) - Pearson 24, Caracut 19, Nieto 12, Santillan 11, Nambatac 10, Borboran 10, Mamuyac 7, Asistio 5, Norwood 3, Ponferrada 1, Ildefonso 0, Torres 0.
NLEX (100) - Clark 37, Trollano 15, Alas 13, Chua 12, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, Nieto 6, Miranda 3, Varilla 2, Rosales 0.
Quarterscores: 31-27; 51-43; 80-75; 110-100.
