Blackwater out, RoS into the semis

“Semis bound! Its 85 – 83 in favor of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters! Best Player: Rey Namabatac with 21 points and 4 rebounds #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

The Rain or Shine (RoS) Elasto Painters are officially part of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, grabbing the last spot available, after advancing past the Blackwater Elite in a close 85-83 victory last Thursday, July 25 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Sophomore guard Rey Nambatac showed his consistency after totalling 21 points – 12 alone in the fourth quarter, guiding his teams to rise from their 13-point deficit. Javee Mocon, Carl Montgomery, and Beau Belga contributed 15, 14, and 10 points respectively as well. Montgomery, in particular, finished with a double-double with 23 rebounds as well.

Rookie guard Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. fought hard for Blackwater as he contributed 16 points alongside Mac Belo who added the same amount. Greg Smith provided a double-double at 15 points and 18 rebounds. Allein Maliksi and Mike Cortez chipped 14 and 10 points respectively.

RoS head coach applauded highest pointer Nambatac for “carrying the team in this game,” telling the media in Filipino,  “The maturity of Rey is really showing. I’m kind of speechless.” He elaborated, “In the first half, I felt we were doing nothing right and we’re lucky we’re just down by seven (at halftime). I told them we want to push every possession and try to go quick but we’re turning the ball over,” continuing, “But in the second half, we were able to settle down, lessen our turnovers. Blackwater went up by eight but my players didn’t give up, they didn’t let up. Credit to them, they played their hearts out.”

The Elasto Painters are now anticipating going head-to-head for a best-of-five semifinals series against the San Miguel Beermen. Their first match is on Saturday, July 27 at the same venue.