Jaylen Johnson filled up the stat sheet in Rain or Shine’s win over the Macau Black Knights in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
It’s a passing grade for Rain or Shine import Jaylen Johnson for his PBA debut on Saturday.
That’s after Johnson raked in 29 points and 24 rebounds in the Elasto Painters’ 116-109 win over the Macau Black Knights in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.
“Just the numbers themselves justify Jaylen’s value to our team,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said of Johnson, who also had six assists and two steals.
Guiao added that Johnson’s presence allowed his teammates to get better, none more evident in the final stretch when the Elasto Painters held off the Black Knights, who slid to 0-2 with the loss.
After Macau knotted things up at 107-all, Gian Mamuyac made a free throw after Tony Mitchell was assessed for a technical foul for disrespectfully addressing an official with 46.6 left to play.
It was all downhill for the Black Knights from there.
Adrian Nocum then completed a three-point play, Jhonard Clarito scored with ease in a fastbreak play and canned two free throws, before Johnson split his shots from the foul line to seal the win.
Within that stretch, Macau only made one field goal — a Mitchell flush off a broken play.
At the end of the match, Nocum finished with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals for the Elasto Painters, who were down by as many as 12 points before rallying for the victory.
Clarito chimed in 16 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, while Mamuyac had 11 points and five rebounds.
“He makes the players around him look good. He makes them better. So that’s exactly what he contributed to the team. Aside from rebounding and scoring he gave us a lot of chemistry,” Guiao said of his new reinforcement.
And Johnson is only bound to better for Rain or Shine, which is eager to rebound after a quarterfinal exit in the Philippine Cup.
“I think it’s a little bit more of an adjustment period for him playing his first game here,” Guiao said.
“I’m sure he’s going to get better, more acclimatized to this style of play. Jaylen’s gonna get a lit better than he already is.”
Meanwhile, Phoenix Shackelford paced the visiting team with 25 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and a block.
Damian Chonqui finished with 22 points and Jenning Leung fired 20 points for the Black Knights in the losing effort.
Rain or Shine vs Macau Scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 116 – Johnson 29, Nocum 19, Clarito 16, Mamuyac 11, Lemetti 9, Tiongson 6, Roque 5, David 4, Caracut 4, Asistio 3, Villegas 3, Santillan 3, Manaytay 2, Malonzo 2, Belga 0
MACAU 109 – Shackelford 25, Chongqui 22, Leung 20, Mitchell 18, Cao 14, Lao 8, Sun 2, Chao 0, Lu 0
Quarterscores: 24-28, 52-58, 83-78, 116-109
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.