Finishing with a flurry
Deo Cuajao and Mike Malonzo are diamonds in the rough in Rain or Shine’s roster.
They sparkled for Yeng Guiao on Tuesday.
The two underrated standouts played a big role in the Elasto Painters’ 124-120 victory over the Converge FiberXers in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals at Smart Araneta Coliseum, where Guiao’s charges overhauled a 21-point deficit to take a 1-0 series lead.
Cuajao’s hot shooting in the third quarter helped Rain or Shine set up the comeback while Malonzo made life hard for Converge import Cameron Clark in the series-opening win.
“Clark is so hard to defend because if you give even an inch of space, he can knock down about 90 percent of those medium-range shots,” said Malonzo, who added six points and two rebounds to his defensive contributions.
The third-year pro shared import-guarding duties with Jhonard Clarito, and both helped cool off Clark after he spearheaded the FiberXers surge in the first half.
Main weapons, too
Cuajao, meanwhile, made all three triples and converted one four-pointer during the third before ending the night with 15 points for the Elasto Painters.
“I haven’t been playing well the last three games, and I just wanted to bounce back,” said the rookie from Letran. “When I made my first three-pointer, I felt that my shots would fall.”
The Elasto Painters wouldn’t have drawn first blood without their main weapons delivering, with Adrian Nocum, import Aaron Fuller, Clarito and Caelan Tiongson stepping up on both ends.
And that is something they will look to sustain or enhance in Game 2 when they seek a 2-0 lead on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Meanwhile, it is the same series lead TNT and NLEX will seek on Wednesday in Game 2 of their respective quarterfinal matchups at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Next games
The Tropang 5G will take on the Magnolia Hotshots at 5:15 p.m., aiming to build on their 92-70 win last Sunday behind import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who is slowly getting his groove back after an injury layoff.
Magnolia will be hard-pressed and desperate to recover from that stinging loss and summon the form that put the team on top of Group B behind six straight wins.
NLEX goes for another win against Phoenix in Game 2 at 7:30 p.m., banking on all-around import Deonte Burton and Robert Bolick to deliver.
Phoenix tries to equalize, with Marcellus Earlington needing to assert himself more, after scoring just 14 points in the 97-92 loss in the series opener.
For more Games stories, features: sports.inquirer.net
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