Rain or Shine returns to winning ways, hands NorthPort's second straight loss

After losing back-to-back games, Rain or Shine returned to its winning ways with a drubbing of NorthPort, 127-107, Thursday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Philsports Arena.

The Elasto Painters set the tone early, mounting a 33-18 lead at the end of the first period before claiming a 62-44 advantage by halftime.

Rain or Shine continued to pound on NorthPort until the Batang Pier cut its deficit, 102-90, with less than eight minutes left before Rain or Shine made a 9-0 run to take a 21-point lead with 6:18 left.

Adrian Nocum led the Elasto Painters' late rally as he made eight of his 16 points in the last five minutes of the game, including a four-pointer at the 3:17 mark.

"Last two games, we had really good starts pero nagco-collapse kami noong second quarter. We were able to hold on to this game and took control of the whole game," Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said.

The Rain or Shine tactician added that the team's focus was important for the said match.

"Before we came out of the locker room, sinabi ko lang unburden ourselves of the losing streak, huwag nang isipin 'yung losing streak. Isipin lang natin mag-compete lang tayo. We can win at our best, if we're competing at our best, that's really the time we will win. Noong mga last games namin, 'pagka nawalan kami ng focus, doon bumabagsak 'yung laro namin so ang objective lang namin today is just keep our focus, just compete," Guiao added.

Aside from posting 16, Nocum grabbed 10 rebounds on top of seven assists and a steal, while import Deon Thompson had 27 points, 11 boards, two assists, and two blocks as Rain or Shine improved to 6-3.

Kadeem Jack's 39-point and 11-rebound output went to naught, along with Arvin Tolentino's 19 points as the Batang Pier suffered their second straight loss and slipped to 7-3.

Scores:

Rain or Shine  127 – Thompson 25, Nocum 16, Santillan 16, Caracut 13, Asistio 12, Datu 11, Norwood 7, Belga 10, Clarito 8, Tiongson 5, Malonzo 2, Lemetti 0, Ildefonso 0.

NorthPort 107 – Jack 39, Munzon 17, Tolentino 19, Flores 8, Cuntapay 5, Nelle 5, Miranda 4, Yu 3, Bulanadi 2, Onwubere 3, Navarro 2.

Quarters:  33-18, 62-44, 96-75, 127-107.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News