Rain or Shine has officially become the first team to punch a ticket to the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, dethroning the heavyweight San Miguel Beermen on Friday.
Utilizing their hard-earned twice-to-beat advantage, the third-seeded Elasto Painters overcame a powerhouse sixth-seed Beermen squad with a 113-104 victory at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.
Andrei Caracut spearheaded the offensive masterclass, putting on a shooting clinic with 29 points, including six triples, alongside six rebounds and five assists.
His perimeter brilliance proved lethal in the clutch, single-handedly orchestrating a 15-5 run late in the fourth quarter to shatter a tight 93-92 ballgame. Caracut’s burst included two standard treys and a deep four-point conversion, pushing the lead to 108-97.
Caelan Tiongson punctuated the decisive scoring run with a corner triple to balloon the lead to 11. Tiongson and import Jaylen Johnson both tallied 23 markers apiece, while Adrian Nocum chipped in a stellar 18 points and six assists.
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao acknowledged the gravity of taking down SMB in a single game rather than letting the series extend.
”Siguro, araw namin talaga. Pero kung dumating ‘to ng Sunday, I don’t think tatalunin namin sila.”
The Beermen, led by Gilas Pilipinas naturalization candidate Bennie Boatwright’s 24 points and June Mar Fajardo’s 12-point, 12-rebound double-double, simply could not weather the Elasto Painters’ late-game perimeter onslaught, resulting in an early playoff exit for the perennial contenders.