MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine sent Blackwater to an early vacation and bolstered its quarterfinal bid in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup following a runaway 116-97 win at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, November 25.

Import Ryan Pearson delivered 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists to notch his first PBA victory as the Elasto Painters capitalized on an 11-day break to snap a two-game skid and return to the playoff picture.

Rain or Shine improved to 5-7 for joint seventh place with Phoenix.

Rey Nambatac shared the scoring load with Pearson, chalking up 21 points on top of 7 rebounds and 4 assists as he redeemed himself after his bungled game-winning play in their 102-101 loss to Converge last November 13.

In that sorry defeat, Nambatac went for a triple despite the team needing just a two-pointer for the win.

But Nambatac proved to be a picture of efficiency this time around, draining 61% of his shots (8-of-13) as he helped anchor their second-half breakaway with 10 points in the last two quarters.

The Elasto Painters led by just 6 points at halftime, 51-45, before they hung 65 points on the hapless Bossing in the second half to stay in playoff hunt.

Anton Asistio delivered 13 points and 6 assists in victory, Norbert Torres tallied 13 points, while Nick Demusis added 9 points and 5 rebounds.

Import Cameron Krutwig once again delivered all-around numbers of 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 assists, but those were not enough to prevent Blackwater from crashing out of contention.

The Bossing started the tournament with a decent 3-3 record but ended their campaign with six consecutive losses to compile a 3-9 card as they missed the quarterfinals for the fifth time over the last six conferences.

It was a sorry exit for Blackwater, which reached the playoffs in the Philippine Cup earlier this season after enduring a PBA record 29 straight losses.

Jollo Go fired 18 points in the loss, while Trevis Jackson and Rey Suerte added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Scores

Rain or Shine 116 – Pearson 22, Nambatac 21, Asistio 13, Torres 13, Demusis 9, Ildefonso 7, Belga 7, Mamuyac 7, Caracut 7, Ponferrada 3, Santillan 3, Clarito 2, Guinto 2, Norwood 0, Borboran 0.

Blackwater 97 – Krutwig 23, Go 18, Jackson 13, Suerte 12, Ayonayon 10, Ular 7, Melton 6, Ebona 3, , Sena 2, Dyke 1, McCarthy 0.

Quarters: 24-20, 51-45, 82-71, 116-97.

– Rappler.com