Elastopainters’ Jhonard Clarito, rain or shine, at the PBA Governors’ Cup. –PBA IMAGES
Rain or Shine took full advantage of Phoenix’s staffing woes on Friday night, pulling out a 116-99 victory to remain perfect in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
The ElastoPainters, once again led by young standouts Adrian Nocum and Jhonard Clarito, earned their fourth straight win at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium (NAS) in Malate, Manila to stay atop Group B and remain the only undefeated team in this import-packed tournament.
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“It is very difficult to face a team that you know will do everything to make up for the absence of an imported player. Phoenix is a good team, they have the materials and are well trained. I was worried at first. If you give them the feeling that they can keep up with you even without an imported player, they are a dangerous opponent,” head coach Yeng Guiao said in Filipino.
READ: PBA: Jhonard Clarito continues to prove his worth for Rain or Shine
“It’s good that we were able to pull away in the fourth quarter, but if we hadn’t, it would have been a long night against Phoenix,” he added, referring to the opposition, which was unable to field a replacement for Jay McKinnis since Le’Bryan Nash was deemed over the 6-foot-6 height limit.
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Nocum had scored 19 of his 21 total points in the second quarter, while Clarito turned in a second solid NAS performance with 15 points.
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Import Aaron Fuller led all scorers with 28 points and 22 rebounds as the ElastoPainters matched their franchise’s best start, which last occurred 12 years ago when the Jamelle Cornley-led club won its first title by ruling the Governors’ Cup.
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READ: PBA: Yeng Guiao likes what he sees in Rain or Shine’s 3-0 start
RJ Jazul and JJay Alejandro each finished with 12 points, while rookie Kai Ballungay and Ricci Rivero each chipped in at least 10 points in the losing effort as Phoenix remained winless after three games.
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Rain or Shine, after comfortably beating Barangay Ginebra last week, will face another test of character when it faces San Miguel on September 5.
“I keep reminding the guys that we are 4-0 but all of this is fragile, no. You lose two… all of that will dissolve and we will be another regular team again. It is temporary. We hope to stretch this victory. We have to work hard to get the ball in the net, we have to work hard to get the ball in the net step by step,” Guiao said.
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Meanwhile, Phoenix will look to get its first win of the season when it plays another winless team in Blackwater on Sept. 3.
