THE Rain or Shine Elasto Painters lived to fight another day by nailing a dominant 113-97 win over the TNT Tropang 5G in Game 5 of their race-to-four semifinal series of the 49th PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night, July 4, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Rain or Shine averted outright elimination, stretching the best-of-seven affair to at least one more game by cutting its series deficit to 2-3.

With TNT needing just one more win to wrap the series up, odds are still stacked against Rain or Shine though it had already achieved something witt the convincing Game 5 win.

The two teams had faced each other thrice already in the semifinals, and on all occasions, the Tropa triumphed after just five games.

TNT simply couldn’t overcome its manpower woes. Roger Pogoy and Kelly Williams failed to suit up, joining Rey Nambatac and Jayson Castro at the sidelines for various injuries.

The Tropa also played without head coach Chot Reyes, who served a one-game suspension for accumulating a fifth technical in Game 4, which they won, 108-92.

Gian Mamuyac and Jhonard Clarito led the Elasto Painters with 22 and 19 points, respectively. Rain or Shine clicked on offense as Keith Datu, Adrian Nocum, and Andrei Caracut also scored in double figures with 11 each.

Calvin Oftana topped TNT with 23 points but managed just two markers in the second half where Rain or Shine tore the game apart.

THE SCORES:

RAIN OR SHINE (113) - Mamuyac 22, Clarito 19, Datu 11, Nocum 11, Caracut 11, Malonzo 8, Tiongson 8, Asistio 7, Santillan 7, Ildefonso 5, Porter 2, Norwood 2, Borboran 0, Escandor 0.

TNT (97) - Oftana 23, Enciso 20, Khobuntin 13, Aurin 13, Galinato 9, Vosotros 8, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Heading 3, Erram 2, Heruela 0, Nieto 0, Varilla 0. QUARTERSCORES: 28-24, 56-52, 93-64, 113-97.(CCM)

• Tags
• #Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
• #TNT Tropang 5G
• #49th PBA Philippine Cup
• #Roger Pogoy
• #Kelly Williams