Painters surge, nip Bolts

MANILA, Philippines -- Rain or Shine had to grind it out late, finding ways to outlast Meralco, 85-83, in the 2026 PBA Governors Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

Aaron Fuller hit the game-winning layup with 39.4 seconds left as the Elasto Painters stormed back from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to notch their fourth straight win in the conference. 

Fuller stood tall for the winning team with 25 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, but he made just nine of his 19 shots from the field. He also committed nine turnovers. Deo Cuajao added 12 markers, while Jhonard Clarito and Caelan Tiongson had 11 apiece. 

Rain or Shine led by 11 points early on, but Meralco stormed back. 

In the third quarter, the Elasto Painters led by seven, 62-55, but a massive 20-6 run capped by a triple by Chris Newsome gave the Bolts a 75-68 lead heading to the fourth. 

Meralco kept its distance, maintaining a 79-72 lead with 9:07 left in the game. 

But an 11-2 run capped by a Clarito layup pushed Rain or Shine ahead, 83-81, with 1:57 to go. 

And after Cliff Hodge tied things up at 83-all with 1:44 left, great defensive possessions by the Elasto Painters, and a stray cat that stumbled into the court, prevented the Bolts from scoring. 

On the other end, Adrian Nocum rushed and found Fuller on the seal. The import then protected the ball from Hodge and hit a go-ahead layup, 85-83, with 39.4 seconds to go. 

A block by Luis Villegas on Antonio Hester, and a missed layup by Chris Banchero, gave the ball back to Rain or Shine. 

Nocum, though, missed both of his free throws. With 2.5 seconds to go, Allein Maliksi was blocked by Fuller, but the ball stayed with Meralco. 

Bong Quinto was then fouled, but he missed both of his freebies as time expired. 

“Ito siguro isa sa mga pinakamasamang laro namin. But we found ways in the end game to carve out a win,” Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said. 

“Our free throws, we missed 14 free throws. Yung dalawang huli namin could have won us the game already, but ang napanalo namin, free throws din. It’s not a really nice game to watch, low scoring, maraming mga messy plays, but ang importante, na-limit namin sila sa 36% field goal shooting,” he added. 

“It became a defensive game, and just finding ways to win.” 

Newsome paced the Bolts with 16 points, to go with five assists, five rebounds and four steals. Hester added 15 markers, 13 boards, two dimes and a steal, while Cliff Hodge and Javee Mocon had 14 points each. 

Rain or Shine rose to 4-2 in the standings, while Meralco dropped its third straight game as the Bolts slipped to a 2-4 slate.