Rain or Shine sustained its push for a quarterfinal berth, defeating Terrafirma, 97-82, on Saturday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Rain or Shine vs. Terrafirma recap

The Elasto Painters led by as many as 30 points to win their third straight game, continuing their rise after losing six straight matches midway in the eliminations.

The young guns showed the way for Rain or Shine with Andrei Caracut and Anton Asistio finishing with a team-high 14 points each, sending Terrafirma to its 10th loss of the conference.

Rey Nambatac also had an all-around game with seven points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists as the Elasto Painters won even without two of their top scorers in Mike Nieto and Beau Belga, as well as veteran Gabe Norwood.

Santi Santillan had 13 points and eight rebounds for Rain or Shine. He had eight to start the pull away as the Elasto Painters led, 33-18, at the end of the first on their way to a 4-6 win-loss record.

Rain or Shine coach Chris Gavina said he is glad to see his team show composure and grit in the face of a late rally by Terrafirma where it was able to slice the gap to 11 in the fourth.

“We’ve seen how Terrafirma can get going once they gain their confidence. Our guys learned from that,” said Gavina, who will still have Magnolia in its schedule.

“Santi had a great bounce back game. He shot 1-for-8 last game and came out today and was really aggressive. Next man-up mentality even with our guys out for health protocols,” he said.

Shaun Ildefonso also had a solid outing as the rookie had 10 points and five rebounds.

Aldrech Ramos had 21 points and nine rebounds but Terrafirma fell behind and trailed 54-24 in the contest. JP Calvo had 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but Juami Tiongson missed the game due to an injury as the Dyip try to avoid being winless this conference as they face Meralco on Thursday.

The Scores

• Rain or Shine 97 – Asistio 14, Caracut 14, Santillan 13, Ildefonso 10, Ponferada 9, Torres 9, Demusis 8, Mamuyac 7, Nambatac 7, Clarito 3, Borboran 2, Tolentino 1.

• Terrafirma 82 – Ramos 21, Gabayni 12, Camson 11, Calvo 10, Munzon 9, Cahilig 7, Mina 7, Javelona 3, Balagasay 2, Tumalip 0, Gomez De Liano 0.

Quarters: 33-18; 59-33; 78-63; 97-82.