By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Rain or Shine Elastopainters completed a huge bounce-back win over the San Miguel Beermen, 122-112, during their PBA Governor’s Cup rematch on September 19, 2024, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
After a June Mar Fajardo buzzer-beater that broke Rain or Shine’s hearts in their first meeting, the Yeng Guiao-led squad made sure that the win would not be decided in the crucial seconds as they hacked out a wire-to-wire victory to clinch the solo lead in Group B.
A collective balanced effort from the Elastopainters proved to be too much for the Beermen as six of the Rain or Shine gunners reached double-digits in the offensive department.
Led by veteran big man Beau Belga who tallied 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds, Rain or Shine was just unstoppable after taking control of the pace of the ball game since the opening buzzer sounded.
Learning from their past loss that fueled them to get back at San Miguel, Rain or Shine decided to keep their gas pedal in check and just turned the affair into a running game.
With that kind of tempo, Fajardo failed to keep up with Rain or Shine’s playing speed and was also neutralized after Guiao decided to deploy quick double teams whenever he touched the leather in the shaded lane.
It was in the fourth quarter that Rain or Shine established its largest lead of the ball game at 15 points, 105-90, courtesy of a Gian Mamuyac jump shot from the perimeter.
San Miguel showed some life after countering back with a 6-0 scoring run but Belga and the rest of the Rain or Shine veterans iced the game with several well-executed offensive plays off timeouts.
Aaron Fuller, Rain or Shine’s reinforcement, also played a huge role in Rain or Shine’s win after taking on the full responsibility of guarding Fajardo in the second half.
Fuller was able to mark his task sheet green as Fajardo only dropped 14 markers in the game while he capped off the win with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Adrian Nocum sustained his fine play for the Elastopainters as the daredevil backcourt force matched Belga’s total of 16 points.
