Basketball
Rain or Shine fends off Magnolia in heated PBA affair, rides Mamuyac-Johnson explosion
Rain or Shine dug deep and turned back Magnolia in a playoff-like battle between perennial contenders, 91-82, for a quick rebound in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday night.
Gian Mamuyac pulled off back-to-back stops, Adrian Nocum finally found the mark after firing blanks, and Jaylen Johnson would go on to drop the hammer as the Elasto Painters completed the rally from down 70-66 early in the fourth.
Thanks to the troika plus the efforts of workhorse Jhonard Clarito, the current leaders bounced back from their loss to Phoenix the last time on the way to collecting win no. 8, moving closer to their goal of netting nine wins.
(C) PBA Images
“This is a tough win for us. We had to tough it out in this game. But we like those kinds of wins; those are tests of character,” Coach Yeng Guiao said.
“So magandang panalo ito para sa amin, saka nalapit kami doon sa nine wins na kailangan namin,” added the champion mentor as their sights are set on securing a Top Four finish for a win-once quarterfinal incentive.
Mamuyac starred in the victory with a career second-best 25 points, on top of two rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block as his assertiveness on both ends, especially on defense, proved to be the difference.
He stole the ball not once but twice from Mark Barroca successively, and both stops led to buckets–first a layup of his to put them ahead, and then an unmolested layup for Nocum for the 73-70 count with 7:13 remaining.
Nocum, who was 0-for-7 before that shot, got his rhythm and followed it up with a trifecta to push the lead further. ‘JJ’ and Clarito would come in afterwards to make it an 80-73 spread as momentum completely shifted their way.
Johnson would go on to serve the exclamation point to the massive reversal by slamming home a one-handed jam in the face of Zavier Lucero to stretch the spread back to seven points, 87-80, with only 1:21 to spare.
He then pulled off his signature shimmy, but their foes didn’t appreciate it as much as the fans did, as Magnolia team consultant Erick Arejola confronted him, leading to a heated spat as Guiao stepped in to his import’s defense.
“I was trying to protect my players because he was trying to intimidate my player. I had to do something,” said the fiery bench tactician.
(C) PBA Images
Cooler heads did prevail, and both Guiao and Arejola would be slapped with technical fouls, but that hardly changed the game’s outcome as Rain or Shine eventually left with the nine-point win, with ‘Mamu’ applying the final touches.
Johnson finished with 25 points as well, together with 14 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block for a full line, finding redemption himself after a poor shooting performance (5-of-25) against the Fuel Masters of Charles Tiu.
Clarito came through with 18 points and nine rebounds while Nocum had eight points in a rare off-night, all of which he scored in the deciding chapter.
“Medyo mabagal kami nung umpisa, and we were also not making our three-point shots and free throws. We pushed the pace in the second half and medyo nakuha na namin ‘yong rhythm namin,” said Guiao of the turnaround.
Rain or Shine will look to chalk up that crucial ninth win when it takes on NLEX on Wednesday, April 29, in a battle between the no. 1 and 2 seeds.
Clint Chapman, on the other hand, had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Magnolia in the loss that snapped their two-game winning streak. It was a tough game for the sweet-shooting big all in all, due to foul trouble, eventually fouling out late.
Lucero and Jerom Lastimosa were his only support with 16 markers apiece in the collapse, which dropped the Hotshots to below .500 again (4-5).
Guiao and Hotshots team consultant Erick Arejola got into a heated spat at center court with 1:21 left, leading to technical fouls.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 91 – Johnson 25, Mamuyac 25, Clarito 18, Nocum 8, Asistio 5, Santillan 3, Villegas 2, Roque 2, Malonzo 2, Tiongson 1, Cuajao 0, David 0, Manaytay 0.
Magnolia 82 – Chapman 17, Lastimosa 16, Lucero 16, Barroca 9, Dela Rosa 8, Sangalang 8, Lee 4, Alfaro 2, Verano 2, Andrada 0, Gomez de Liano 0.
Quarterscores: 20-25, 38-41, 66-62, 91-82.
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Joseph Yeo and Chris Tiu rekindled their legendary partnership as Xavier School edged the James Yap-led Hua Siong College-Iloilo, 75-72, in Game 1 of the 40 Years Division finals of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Though no longer as quick or explosive as they were in their prime, the Powersox-AcroCity-backed Xavier stars remained deadly from beyond the arc, delivering clutch baskets down the stretch to topple the defending champions in the opener of their best-of-three title series before a sizable crowd.
The Golden Stallions now stand one win away from the championship and a measure of revenge after falling to Hua Siong in last year’s finals. They can seal the title with another victory on Monday.
Yeo turned back the clock with a game-high 30 points, highlighted by four three-pointers, to outduel fellow PBA great James Yap. He scored Xavier’s final seven points, including a crucial triple that stretched the lead to 71-66 late in the contest.
Yap answered with 18 points, knocking down two booming three-pointers, but his efforts were not enough as the Lamtex Pipes-backed Hua Siong absorbed its first loss after sweeping all eight elimination-round games. Hua Siong had also cruised past GT Radial-Grace Christian College, 108-74, in the semifinals.
Tiu also played a key role in the victory, finishing with 17 points while sinking two of Xavier’s 13 three-pointers. Hua Siong, meanwhile, connected on nine triples.
In the battle for third place, Grace Christian College rolled past SCAG-St. Stephen’s, 60-40, behind Allan Anson Tan’s 20-point performance to finish third in the nine-team tournament.
With Yap struggling to find his rhythm late, Ken Bono tried to keep Hua Siong within striking distance, but Xavier would not be denied.
The league is backed by Smart Sports, Tanduay Athletics, Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Yong Kee Roasting House, 1118 Autospa, and TCL.
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Ramon Cao asserted himself in the endgame to help Macau complete a 132-126 comeback win over Titan Ultra to break through in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup, Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The reliable big man finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds as he basically took it upon himself to bring the Giant Risers home after seeing themselves staring at a 120-119 deficit with 1:52 remaining.
He scored seven straight to give themselves the 126-120 lead with 31.1 seconds left, which were enough to put them ahead permanently while the opposition could only try to answer back but to no avail
De’Vondre Perry helped him out to keep their foes at bay before Cao applied the final blow with a cleanup from point-blank as the former Bay Area Dragons forward produced 11 of Macau’s last 13 points of the bout.
With this, the guest team improved to 1-4 while sending Titan crashing back to earth after beating TNT previously.
The post PBA: Ramon Cao powers Macau’s stunning comeback to first win at Titan’s expense appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
FIBA U18 AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers
Friday Results
- Uganda 52-40 South Sudan
- Egypt 126-32 Tanzania
Saturday Fixtures
- Kenya Vs Uganda – 3:30 p
- Tanzania Vs Rwanda – 8:30 pm
The 2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers got underway on Friday in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
Two tickets to Côte d’Ivoire, the hosts of the final tournament from August 5 to 16, are up for grabs.
Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks faced off with the Young Bright Stars of South Sudan in the Group B opener at Cairo Stadium Indoor Hall 2.
Despite being shorthanded, the Junior Silverbacks claimed a 52-40 win but needed a strong defensive effort down the stretch to hold off a determined South Sudan that had chipped away at a double-digit third-quarter deficit to just 2 points (42-40) with just under four minutes to play in the final period.
South Sudan controlled the early stages of the game, scoring six unanswered points and forcing Uganda into a timeout.
The message head coach Daniel “Najja” Jjuuko delivered to the Junior Silverbacks elicited a perfect response from the youngsters as they went on a 10-0 scoring run and never looked back.
While combo guard Shane Kwizera shone with a 19-point, 10-rebound, and 12-steal triple-double, Pierre Laurent Rwuhiriro’s effort on the defensive end soared. The center finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, but his contribution was beyond what reflects in the stat sheet.
Uganda forced South Sudan into committing 39 turnovers despite getting outrebounded 55-49.
Bior Mayen netted 15 points to lead the scoring for South Sudan, and Deng Langar had a 10-point and 14-rebound double-double.
Next Up
Group action continues today (Saturday, July 25) as Uganda takes on Kenya at 3:30 p.m. A win for the Junior Silverbacks guarantees them a place in the semifinals, in which they will face the runner-up from Group A, which has Egypt, Rwanda and Tanzania.
The post FIBA U18 AfroBasket Qualifiers: Uganda’s Junior Silverbacks hold off South Sudan appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
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