Andrei Caracut had plenty of motivation on Friday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. His teammates were grinding. The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters needed a win. And somewhere in the crowd, a special friend watched intently.
He did not disappoint.
Caracut erupted for 29 points—spiked by six triples and a four-pointer—to lead Rain or Shine past the San Miguel Beermen, 113-104, and into the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals. It was the kind of performance that earns award citations. It also earned him no shortage of ribbing.
Caracut Earns Player of the Week Honor
For his brilliance, Caracut was unanimously named the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period May 13–16. He beat out TNT Tropang 5G’s RR Pogoy and Calvin Oftana, who both stepped up in the eighth-seeded Tropa’s back-to-back wins over the top-seeded NLEX Road Warriors for a semis berth, and Meralco’s Chris Newsome, who was instrumental in the Bolts’ hard-earned 105-102 overtime win over the Magnolia Hotshots in their quarterfinal rubbermatch.
None of them, however, had to do it with the internet watching their every move.
Social media had been buzzing about an alleged romance between Caracut and Bella Belen—”BellDrei,” as netizens had taken to calling the supposed love team—and when the volleyball superstar showed up courtside for the must-win game against the reigning All-Filipino champions, the narrative practically wrote itself.
Caracut, to his credit, played along—sort of.
“Inspired lang ako kasi syempre yung nagtatrabaho yung mga teammates ko, nakikita ko sila kung paano sila magtrabaho. Nakaka-inspire na ipanalo ‘yung game,” he said, playing coy. “Tama ba yung sagot? Saka ‘yung girlfriend ng mga teammates ko nagsusuporta kaya nakaka-inspire po.”
Caracut’s Game Spoke for Itself
Inspired or not, the numbers were real. With the Beermen clawing back from as many as 12 down and threatening to steal the win, Caracut took over in the fourth quarter—pouring in 12 points in the final canto, capped by a booming four-point play at the 3:07 mark that ignited a 12-7 closing run and sealed Rain or Shine’s place in the Final Four.
It was the kind of shot that silences a comeback. The No. 3 Elasto Painters had dispatched No. 6 San Miguel in quick fashion and returned to the semifinals where they belong. And it took the Andrei Caracut heater to get it done.
Belen, presumably, approved.
