Rain or Shine keeps win streak going

MANILA, Philippines — Shorthanded and all, Rain or Shine continued its surge and tripped winless Terrafirma, 97-82, to fan its playoffs bid in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the MOA Arena.

With veterans Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood and former Gilas Pilipinas draftee Mike Nieto sitting it out due to health protocols, the Elasto Painters’ youth brigade dutifully stepped up in helping stretch their win streak to three for 4-6 overall.

At joint ninth, the Chris Gavina-coached squad moved within striking distance of the eight-team quarterfinals cutoff with a chance to finish with five wins on Wednesday against Magnolia and possibly a playoff for a Last-8.

Andrei Caracut and Anton Asistio fired team-high scores of 14 while Santi Santillan atoned for his so-so showing last time with a 13-point, eight-rebound outing in the wire-to-wire rout. Shaun Ildefonso joined the double-digit scoring parade with 10.

“We went through a whole month of not winning and now, three wins in a row. Lessons were learned through fire and today it was a great game for a lot of our third team guys to get quality minutes and develop that next-man-up mentality for us,” said Gavina.

“We’re extremely happy with the position we’re in now but we have one more big game coming up. It’s a do-or-die,” he added.

Later, Phoenix arrested a five-match skid with a comprehensive 89-66 triumph over Converge to improve to 3-7, moving a win behind the misfiring FiberXers’ 4-6.

Aldrech Ramos’ 21-point performance topped the Dyip, who at 0-10 stand one loss away from a winless tournament.

Missing main gunner Juami Tiongson (hamstring strain), Terrafirma will have one last try to score a W on Thursday against Meralco.

Santillan and Asistio spearheaded ROS’ rousing 33-18 start as they netted eight markers apiece in the first 12 minutes of play.

Jewel Ponferada and Ildefonso picked it up in the second, powering the Elasto Painters to a 26-15 exchange en route to a 59-33 buffer at the break.