WITH Deon Thompson and Adrian Nocum leading the way, Rain or Shine is headed to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.

Thompson finished with a near triple-double performance of 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the Elasto Painters brought down the FiberXers, 112-103, in the third and deciding game of their thrilling quarterfinal showdown at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Thompson, who went 16-of-20 from the floor, also had two steals and two blocks in 40 minutes of action as the Yeng Guiao-mentored E-Painters finished off the FiberXers, two games to one, to arrange a matchup against second seed TNT Tropang Giga in the best-of-seven semifinals.

Nocum added 25 points, including a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

The former Mapua University standout put up 25 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Andrei Caracut contributed 14 points, six assists and three rebounds in the E-Painters’ seocnd victory over the FiberXers in three days.

Jhonard Clarito also stapped up for Rain or Shne as he chipped in 10 points and three rebounds.

“We’re very happy with our progress,” said Guiao after the game.

“This is what we’ve been trying to achieve. The past two conferences, we made the semifinals, so it would be a pity if we did not make it this conference,” he added.

“It’s also a validation of the hard work that the guys put in, the togetherness and the camaraderie that they have, and it’s also a testimony to the progress of the team in general,” he continued.

Alec Stockton carried the fight for the FiberXers with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and six assists in 33 minutes of play for coach Franco Atienza.

Import Cheick Diallo added 19 points and 13 rebounds in 36 minutes of action, while Justine Baltazar contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.

Justin Arana and Schonny Winston chipped in with 15.and 14 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, members of the Selection Committee have set the ball rolling in what could be a lengthy, exhaustive process to determine the 10 additional players to the list of PBA greatest.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial and DepCom Eric Castro sat down in an initial meeting with the special committee at the PBA office in Libis, laying down the groundwork for the task of completing the PBA 50 Greatest in line with the league’s golden anniversary.

The scores:

Rain or Shine (112) — Thompson 34, Nocum 25, Caracut 14, Clarito 11, Asistio 7, Belga 6, Datu 5, Tiongson 5, Santillan 4, Malonzo 1.
Converge (103) — Stockton 26, Diallo 19, Baltazar 16, Arana 15, Winston 14, Racal 7, Heading 3, Andrade 3, Santos 0, Cabagnot 0, Caralipio 0, Delos Santos 0, Javillonar 0.
Quarterscores: 22-21, 50-45, 80-77, 112-103.

The results:
Game 1– Converge 130, Rain or Shine 118.
Game 2 — Rain or Shine 114, Converge 104.
Game 3 — Rain or Shine 112, Converge 103.
(Rain or Shine wins series, 2-1).

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya