𝗩𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻
Behind a masterful game from bench player Leonard Santillan, the seventh-seeded Rain or Shine Elasto Painters reasserted their dominance over the no. 2 NLEX Road Warriors, 103-92, to reach the semifinals of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate on Saturday, June 21.
Santillan led the charge for his squad, as he filled the stat sheet with 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and three blocks to help Rain or Shine pull an upset over the twice-to-beat NLEX.
”We just played our brand of game, buwis buhay basketball. If something is going wrong, just put in the effort, and doon namin nakuha. We just made our best effort,” Coach Yeng Guiao indicated.
Adding to the 29-year-old’s production, Jhonard Clarito, coming off a historical 20-20 performance in Game 1, also came alive with another double-double, posting 13 markers and 16 boards for their fourth straight semifinals appearance.
Coincidentally, this victory gave the Elasto Painters their third straight semis clash with TNT this season, with both prior meetings ending in the Tropang 5G’s favor.
In the final quarter, ROS blitzed to a late 10-1 run, which kickstarted their late domination towards a 92-82 lead.
With less than three minutes left, the Road Warriors tried to take away the driver’s seat from the Elasto Painters, as Robert Bolick drained a deep four-pointer, bringing them within striking distance, 98-90.
However, that proved to be the last effort exerted by NLEX, after multiple ROS players went on fire when it came down to the wire, to not only best the second-seeded team but also to have a chance at revenge against TNT.
Aside from Santillan and Clarito, Andrei Caracut, Anton Asistio, and Mike Malonzo further established the lead and finished with 16, 11, and 10 markers, respectively.
For NLEX, Bolick was a man on a mission, tallying a game-high 34 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists in the loss.
The Elasto Painters will now set their eyes on the Tropang 5G, as they will face each other in a best-of-seven semifinal series that will start on Wednesday, June 25, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
