MANILA, Philippines—Rain or Shine’s Caelan Tiongson took advantage of TNT’s game plan in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals to give the Elasto Painters their first win of the series.

On Sunday at Araneta Coliseum, Rain or Shine finally barged into the win column in the semis, cutting TNT’s series deficit to 2-1 following a 103-98 win.

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The Elasto Painters’ victory was thanks in large part to Tiongson, who rose to the occasion despite having Rondae Hollis-Jefferson as his defender.

READ: PBA: Rain or Shine cuts into TNT semifinals lead with Game 3 win

“I kept telling him that RHJ was playing off him, always trying to help out in the middle… That just made him open,” said coach Yeng Guiao in Filipino.

“That means he can take advantage. When he had a good look, he took it. When he could cut, he did. When he wanted to seal out and get offensive boards, he did.”

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Tiongson stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists, shooting an efficient 58.3 percent from the field.

READ: PBA: Yeng Guiao still sees positives as Rain or Shine goes down 0-2

Granted that he didn’t completely stop Hollis-Jefferson, who managed to finish with 34 points and 19 rebounds, Tiongson still made the prolific TNT import work hard for his shots. Hollis-Jefferson shot just 12-of-26 from the field.

“I think RHJ is a great player and competitor,” said Tiongson.

“It’s [defending him] stressful for me, for sure. The points, it doesn’t matter who they come from but I’m just happy we got the win,” he added.

Rain or Shine hopes to get more help from Tiongson in Game 4 when they try to equalize the series at Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.