The PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis cast is complete. This after the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel won their respective do-or-die games on Sunday at Ynares Center. Here is a recap of the action:
Rain or Shine Stuns Converge as Deon Thompson, Adrian Nocum Deliver
Deon Thompson and Adrian Nocum once again conspired to help the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters outlast the Converge FiberXers, 112-103, to make it to the semis for a third straight conference.
Thompson fired a PBA career-high 34 points on top of 12 rebounds and 7 assists. He also delivered the decisive baskets down the stretch to keep Converge at bay. Nocum, meanwhile, added 25 to follow-up his 28-point performance in Game 2.
With Rain or Shine nursing an 80-77 lead going to the fourth, Beau Belga hit back-to-back threes and Nocum strung together five straight points to help the Elasto Painters build a 91-80 cushion. Alec Stockton, who finished with a team-high 26, tried to keep Converge in the game in the fourth, but Thompson and Nocum kept answering back with big baskets of their own to help Rain or Shine pull of the upset.
Cheick Diallo had 19 points and 13 boards but was hampered by foul trouble, committing his fifth foul with still five minutes left in the third. Justine Baltazar chipped in 16 points and 9 boards.
Rain or Shine will next take on the TNT Tropang Giga in a rematch of their semis showdown in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine (112) – Thompson 34, Nocum 25, Caracut 14, Clarito 11, Asistio 7, Belga 6, Datu 5, Tiongson 5, Santillan 4, Malonzo 1
Converge (103) – Stockton 26, Diallo 19, Baltazar 16, Arana 15, Winston 14, Racal 7, Heading 3, Andrade 3, Santos 0, Cabagnot 0, Caralipio 0, Delos Santos 0, Javillonar 0
Ginebra Rallies Past Meralco to Enter Semis
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel bucked a sluggish first half and did just enough in the second to upend the Meralco Bolts, 94-87, and reach a sixth consecutive semifinals.
Justin Brownlee and RJ Abarrientos helped keep Ginebra afloat in the first 24 minutes of action as Meralco raced out to a 12-point lead to start the second quarter. Both Brownlee and Abarrientos teamed up to cut the deficit to 38-37 entering intermission.
Brownlee fired a game-high 25 points on top of 10 rebounds and 7 assists, while RJ Abarrientos added 16. The two, along with Japeth Aguilar, also conspired to help turn an 80-76 fourth quarter lead to an 88-76 cushion with just 2:20 left in the game.
Chris Newsome spearheaded the Bolts’ attack with 22 points, while Bong Quinto and Cliff Hodge chipped in 16 and 13, respectively. Akil Mitchell, however, scored only 8 points—his worst output this PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Ginebra will next face the topseeded NorthPort Batang Pier in the other semis bracket.
The Scores:
Ginebra (94) – Brownlee 23, Holt 17, Abarrientos 16, Rosario 12, Thompson 7, J.Aguilar 6, Ahanmisi 6, Cu 5, Malonzo 0
Meralco (87) – Newsome 22, Quinto 16, Hodge 13, Banchero 12, Black 9, Mitchell 8, Rios 5, Almazan 2, Bates 0
PBA Commissioner’s Cup: On to the Semis
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup will take a two-week break to give way Gilas Pilipinas taking on Qatar and Lebanon on February 15 and Egypt on February 17 in friendlies as they prepare for the FIBA Asia Cup. They will then take on Chinese Taipei and New Zealand to finish of their FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
After all that, the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis will resume on February 26 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
