Rain or Shine rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Barangay Ginebra 115-111 in Game 1 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup semifinals on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
The Elasto Painters used an 11-0 scoring run in the final two minutes to erase the Gin Kings' lead.
Import Jaylen Johnson paced Rain or Shine with 40 points and 19 rebounds in front of 10,412 spectators.
Ginebra engaged in a high-scoring shootout despite traditionally prioritizing defense.
Justin Brownlee scored 32 points and RJ Abarrientos added 21 points for the Gin Kings, but their efforts were undone by late turnovers and transition defensive lapses.
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao praised Johnson's performance against Ginebra's veteran import.
He noted the physical response required from his shorthanded rotation, which was missing Caelan Tiongson due to a stomach ailment and Luis Villegas to a third-quarter injury.
"He stepped up to the moment," said Guiao.
The Elasto Painters are currently missing multiple players for the season, including Keith Datu, Felix Lemetti, Jun Roque, and Stanley Pringle.
"To be able to stand up and be able to go toe-to-toe with Justin Brownlee is already a big achievement, and then we got to beat them," said Guiao.
Guiao noted that his squad, which is three wins away from a finals appearance, needs to maintain its defensive execution as the best-of-seven series progresses.
"Nakaisang tsamba. Let's see how many more we can muster.
We're just like someone running an errand and suddenly found ourselves in the semis," said Guiao.
The victory provides a morale boost for the younger roster against a highly experienced and talented championship contender.
"Of course, it's really encouraging to win game one against a tough team like Ginebra. It really boosts your morale.
But the series is long. It's a seven-game series.
They're very, very talented. They're very experienced in a situation like this," said Guiao.
Meanwhile, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone criticized his team's execution and lack of defensive poise down the stretch after surrendering the double-digit lead.
"They hit the bigger shots and we played their game tonight," lamented Cone.
Cone indicated that the Gin Kings must adjust their perimeter control and transition defense to prevent falling further behind in the series.
"We didn't have much discipline," lamented Cone.
The head coach emphasized that the team's continuous errors will derail their championship aspirations if left uncorrected.
"If we're going to continue to be like that, we're not going to win many games in this series," said Cone.
Ginebra gave up too many fast-break opportunities and turned the ball over frequently during the fourth-quarter collapse.
"We've got to be tougher, we've got to be better, we've got to be more disciplined.
They hit the bigger shots and made the bigger plays down the stretch," said Cone.
The Gin Kings must become more focused on their halfcourt schemes to counter the deep rotation utilized by their opponents.
"The bottom line is we gave up way too many games. We made them play their running game and we made too many turnovers.
We've got to be better locked in next time," said Cone.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven semifinal series is scheduled for Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
