The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are back in business. They have trimmed the TNT Tropang Giga’s series lead in half after a thrilling 110-109 win last Sunday. Will Rain or Shine get it together again and tie the series up at 2-2? Or, will the Tropang Giga prevent such a scenario by hitting back hard at Rain or Shine to net a victory?

Catch this game live on Wednesday,  October 16 at 5:00 pm, Manila time.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (1-2)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Adrian Nocum
  • Felix Lemetti
  • Jhonard Clarito
  • Keith Datu
  • Aaron Fuller

For the first time in the series, the Elasto Painters won the possession battle, as they outshot TNT in Game 3, 86-81. Rain or Shine did that mostly by controlling the glass. The Elasto Painters, behind import Aaron Fuller’s huge game, outrebounded TNT, 54-35. Fuller finished Game 3 with 26 points and 16 boards while also coming through in the clutch to ensure that Rain or Shine won’t go down the proverbially terrifying 3-0 series hole. 

Leonard Santillan also stepped up big time for Rain or Shine with 20 points and six rebounds off the bench, while Felix Lemetti and Adrian Nocum put up 11 and 10 points, respectively. Speaking of their relievers, the Elasto Painters got 41 points from their bench to just three from TNT’s second unit.  Rain or Shine’s outside shooting also clicked, with the Elasto Painters going 12/33 from the 3-point area. Starting Keith Datu also seemed to have a positive impact on Rain or Shine, as his presence helped make Fuller’s job inside easier.

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TNT Tropang Giga (2-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Rey Nambatac
  • RR Pogoy
  • Calvin Oftana
  • Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
  • JP Erram

The Tropang Giga failed to push Rain or Shine to the verge of elimination, as they simply fell short of that goal in Game 3. Nevertheless, TNT still has control of the series. The Tropang Giga can also feel encouraged by the performance of JP Erram in the loss to Rain or Shine, where the former Defensive Player of the Year had 27 points on a near-perfect 12/13 shooting from the floor while also grabbing five rebounds and recorded three steals and two blocks. 

Meanwhile, TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 23 points on a salty 9/23 shooting from the field. The Tropang Giga usually survives poor shooting nights from RHJ because he does so much in other areas, but even with his 11 assists and 10 rebounds, TNT still faltered. A big reason for that was the Tropang Giga’s brutally outmatched bench, as mentioned earlier. Henry Galinato Jr. was on the floor for just six minutes but he finished with a minus-19 while Brian Heruela had a minus-10 in 10 minutes of action.

Picks

Spread: TNT (-5.5)

Over/Under: Over (208.0)

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