Rookie guard Adrian Nocum put on a show in a telling second-quarter run to set the tone for Rain or Shine’s first win at the expense of stunned Phoenix, 100-85, in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Elasto Painters used an 18-0 blitz anchored on the energetic young guard to erase a nine-point deficit and turn the tide of the game that started tight to their favor to arrest a four-game slide.
Rain or Shine also halted a four-game losing skid against the Fuel Masters in their head-to-head that gave head coach Yeng Guiao a sigh of relief.
“It worked out for us. For a while, I was worried about a repeat of the last conference where we started 0-5. At least now it’s 1-4, we made some improvement,” Guiao said of their victory that he hopes they could build around heading into the long All-Star and Holy Week break.
Nocum scored 13 of his career-high 28 points in the decisive second quarter turnaround, shooting 11-of-21 from the field. The Mapua University product added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals while committing only two turnovers in almost 32 minutes of play.
Guiao also praised Nocum for taking good looks from the outside as he drilled five of his nine three-point shots.
“Coach would always tell me to practice my outside shooting so that I’ll have varied threats and not just rely on driving inside. I was able to apply that in the game,” Nocum.
“They’re giving me the confidence to take my shots whenever I’m open. If they close out on me, I’ll drive it hard,” he added.
Beau Belga provided leadership and stability inside the court while chipping in 21 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Rain or Shine. Jhonard Clarito had 19 points and Leonard Santillan listed eight points and 10 boards.
Phoenix behind Ricci Rivero’s efforts tried to turn things around midway into the fourth quarter, cutting down a 16-point deficit in the third period to just 80-86 with 6:48 left in the game courtesy of a trey by JJ Alejandro from way out.
But the Elsto Painters quickly answered with consecutive treys from Andrei Caracut and Clarito for a double-digit breathing room, 92-80, with 5:15 left.
“We played better defense in the fourth quarter. Our previous losses were pretty close games except of that against San Miguel but before that, we couldn’t close out games, we couldn’t finish in the end game,” Guiao said.
