MANILA, Philippines — Undersized wingman Jhonard Clarito delivered an incredible 20-20 effort as Rain or Shine eked out a 92-89 win over NLEX to force a sudden death match for a semifinals spot in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
At just 6-foot-2, Clarito played like a towering big man on the way to finishing with 21 rebounds, while scoring 14 of his 20 points in the final period to snatch the Elasto Painters from the jaws of defeat and early vacation.
Seeded seventh in the opening round of the playoffs, ROS faced a win-or-go-home proposition against the No. 2 seed NLEX.
The Elasto Painters got off to a flying start after leading by as many as 16 points in the opening half.
But the Road Warriors struck hard in the third quarter and went on to even enjoy an eight-point lead.
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Until Clarito stepped up big witb his gargantuan effort to lift ROS and force a winner-take-all match on Saturday against NLEX at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
As per PBA chief of statisticaian Fidel Mangonon, Clarito became the first Rain ot Shine player to register a 20-20 effort, and became the shortest player to do so since the 6-foot-3 Willy Wilson did the trick during the 2015-16 Philippine Cup.
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“We were just patient. Basketball is a game of runs,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao after the game. “We had our run in the first half. They had a run in the third quarter. Good thing we were able to recover in the fourth quarter.” Adrian Nocum also finished witb 20 points, to go along with five rebounds, and two steals, while forward Leonard Santillan added 16 and seven boards for Rain or Shine.
Xyrus Torres had 14 of his 20 points in the third quarter but was held scoreless in the payoff canto period for the Road Warriors.
Javee Mocon had a double-double of 16 and 11 rebounds, while Robert Bolick finished with 15 on just 5-of-20 shooting overall.
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