Painters nip Tropang Giga to avoid 3-0 hole

MANILA, Philippines -- Rain or Shine finally tallied a win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals after surviving the TNT Tropang Giga, 103-98, in Game 3 Sunday evening at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Elasto Painters are now trailing 1-2 in the series.

Deon Thompson carried the load for the winning team with 19 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Caelan Tiongson chipped in 18 markers, seven boards and four dimes.

After leading by as much as 13 points in the third quarter, 69-56, after a 3-pointer by Santi Santillan, TNT stormed back and unleashed a 21-6 run capped by a Rondae Hollis-Jefferson layup to grab a 77-75 lead.

An Anton Asistio 3-pointer halted the run, which sparked a nip-and-tuck ballgame between the two teams.

A triple by Calvin Oftana pushed TNT ahead 84-83 with 7:42 remaining. But Rain or Shine uncorked a 5-0 mini-run to get an 88-84 separation, which they did not yield.

The Painters led by six, 94-88, after a pair of free throws by Adrian Nocum with 3:26 left.

After a Hollis-Jefferson jumper cut the deficit to two, 90-94, Gian Mamuyac hit a clutch layup off the steal as Rain or Shine took a 96-90 lead with 1:24 to go.

After missed shots by both teams in the succeeding possessions, Tiongson hit the dagger layup with 16.8 seconds remaining.

But Hollis-Jefferson did not give up, pulling up from 4-point area to cut the game to just four, 94-98.

Nocum was then fouled on the other end. He made the first and missed the second, but Hollis-Jefferson tipped the ball out of bounds.

Tiongson kept the Tropang Giga at bay with a pair of free throws, which was answered by a quad-shot by Hollis-Jefferson to cut the deficit to three, 98-101, with 4.3 seconds left.

A pair of freebies by Gian Mamuyac iced the game.

Nocum had another stellar game for Rain or Shine with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal. Asistio added 12.

Hollis-Jefferson had 34 points, 19 rebounds, two assists and a steal, while RR Pogoy backstopped with 21 markers for TNT, which will miss Jayson Castro for the season.

Game 4 of the semifinal series will be on Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., also at the Big Dome.