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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
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04
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20
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2024
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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
04
20
2024
Rain or Shine import Mo Charlo. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
With a gem of an import find in Mo Charlo, Rain or Shine scored some measure of revenge versus Philippine Cup Final Four conqueror San Miguel Beer, pulling off a 108-105 win in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
Charlo was all over the floor at the finish, striking on an under-goal shot, from the three-point arc and on a thunderous jam to punctuate a 35-point PBA debut carrying the Elasto Painters to joint fourth place with an even 3-3 win-loss card.
The ROS import sub also had a crucial steal leading to a fastbreak layup by Maverick Ahanmisi in the closing seconds as the E-Painters foiled the Beermen’s shot at joint second place with the Alaska Milk Aces at 4-1.
The Beermen dominated the early goings, leading by as many as 19 at 35-16 but suffered a tremendous blow on the exit of June Mar Fajardo after hurting his right knee.
“We got a big break with June Mar injuring himself or accidentally by a teammate. I don’t know what exactly happened. But that’s the biggest break,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.
“Another good thing for us was we got the import that we needed,” Guiao added. “He’s not as big as the other imports but he’s a great defender. He gives us a lot of range and he’s active, he can run with the team in the open court.”
Charlo really impressed in his PBA debut with a 6-of-8 three-pointers and 12-of-22 shooting overall. He also got 13 rebounds and three assists in 39:36 minutes of action.
As Fajardo headed to the showers ahead of the rest, the E-Painters found an opening, charging from a 19-point deficit to pull even at 44 before the end of the first half.
The E-Painters tasted the lead for the first time at 56-55 on a three-painter by Charlo five minutes into the third quarter.
Charlo took a while to get going as he had to be substituted just two minutes into the game, writhing in pain as he was accidentally hit between the legs by Wilkerson.
Wilkerson had a spectacular first half with 21 points on 7-of-13 field goals and 5-of-5 charities. Charlo, however, had matched Wilkerson’s output – 25 – by the end of the third.
The two teams fought through six lead changes and eight deadlocks in the third period that ended with the count squared up at 76.
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