PBA: Rain or Shine blasts Ginebra to tie semis at 2-2

SCHEDULE: PBA Commissioner’s Cup 2026 Semifinals

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ Jaylen Johson during a game vs Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—A hot start propelled Rain or Shine to zoom past Barangay Ginebra, 97-85, in Game 4 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

Following a sorry loss on Sunday, the Elasto Painters vented their ire on the Gin Kings to tie the series at 2-2 and make the semifinals a virtual best-of-three series.

“This is the only thing we want, to extend the series,” coach Yeng Guiao said.

“The longer the series, the better our chances. Our longer rotation and bench can help out if we extend this to six or seven games. I think our rotation can help better for that.”

Rain or Shine came out firing with a 31-23 opening quarter and never allowed the Gin Kings to find their rhythm.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ Gian Mamuyac during a game vs Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The Elasto Painters led by as many as 26 points before Ginebra trimmed the deficit to 77-65 at the end of the third quarter.

Rain or Shine, however, opened the fourth with a 9-5 run capped by a triple from Andrei Caracut at the 8:33 mark to restore a comfortable 86-70 cushion.

The Gin Kings never recovered from there.

Jaylen Johnson posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds for Rain or Shine, while Gian Mamuyac added 12 points.

Jhonard Clarito, Adrian Nocum and Christian Manaytay chipped in 11 points each in the balanced win.

For Ginebra, Justin Brownlee finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Scottie Thompson had 20 points. Japeth Aguilar also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.