Balanced Rain or Shine edges Terrafirma for 4th straight win

MANILA, Philippines – The winning streak lives on for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

Riding on a well-balanced scoring attack, Rain or Shine took down the Terrafirma Dyip, 116-104, to claim its fourth straight victory in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Caloocan Sports Complex on Saturday, April 13.

A total of seven players scored in double figures for Rain or Shine, with Beau Belga dropping a team-best 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

Andrei Caracut backstopped Belga with a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists, while Jhonard Clarito and Leonard Santillan put up 16 and 15 markers, respectively.

Mark Borboran chipped in 13 points, Mac Belo added 11, while Gian Mamuyac contributed 10 for the Elasto Painters, who improved to an even 4-4 record after a slow start to the conference.

After building a 10-point cushion over Terrafirma at the end of the third quarter, 92-82, Rain or Shine saw its lead cut to just a single possession, 92-89, at the 9:42 mark of the final frame as Stephen Holt, Javi Gomez de Liaño, and Isaac Go joined forces for a quick 7-0 run.

Unfortunately for the Dyip, Caracut immediately restored order for the Elasto Painters with a layup, before Belga went on a personal 5-0 blast to push their lead back to 10 with 6:44 remaining.

Rain or Shine’s furious rally did not finish there as Caracut hit another three-pointer to extend their advantage further to 13, 102-89, putting Terrafirma away for good with still 6:05 left to play.

Holt, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 PBA Draft, racked up a near triple-double of 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists for Terrafirma in the loss.

Juami Tiongson also came up with 20 points, while Gomez de Liaño had a double-double of 18 markers and 10 rebounds for the Dyip, who fell to a 4-5 card.