Rain or Shine overpowered Blackwater, 122-106, on Wednesday night to open up its new year’s PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign with a big bang at the PhilSports Arena.
Despite a three-week hiatus, the Elasto Painters showed little signs of rust despite not having played since Dec. 22, racing to an early 39-16 lead. They slowed down in the second period in the face of the Bossing’s gritty fightback, but recovered their bearings in the second half to win with plenty to spare.
“My primary concern at the beginning was how sharp the guys are going to be coming off almost a three-week break,” admitted Guiao after his side notched a fifth straight win that gave it second-running 5-1 slate.
“This is our first game in the new year and medyo concerned ako kung paano nila lalaruin ‘yung first game namin. We’ve had good practices but iba pa rin pag nakita mo sa laro,” added Guiao.
“We had a good first quarter, actually. Maganda ‘yung start namin, but we had a really bad second quarter, that’s why we (almost) lost the 23-point lead,” added Guiao. “But what’s good about it is, it’s a game of runs and we were able to get enough runs for us to win the game.”
The next task for Guiao and his wards is to get past Phoenix in their Saturday meeting. “Sa amin ang importante makarating ng next round,” he said.
“Ang tingin naming, seven wins would assure you of a slot in the next round. So we have five wins now,” added Guiao. “We’re just looking to play and win another one. Get as close to seven as early as we can, ‘yun lang ang iniisip namin.”
Deon Thompson bucked early foul trouble to finish with 25 points, 16 rebounds and four assists while Adrian Nocum scattered 18 of his 22 points in the second half to stoke and fuel Rain or Shine’s telling runs.
Leonard Santillan scored 10 points in each half while Anton Asistio wound up with 18 points, nine of those through 3s in the opening quarter that kickstarted the E-Painters’ early surge.
Blackwater managed to come within 43-49 and threatened last at 59-66, but could not match Rain or Shine’s firepower and stingy defense, resulting in the Bossing absorbing a third straight defeat that dropped them to a 1-6 card.
George King led all scorers with 35 points and Blackwater with 12 rebounds, but he shot just 7-of-20 from the field with the bulk of his points coming from the stripes where he canned 17 of 18 tries.
Not even a left ankle sprain that King’s primary defender, Caelan Tiongson, suffered and forced him out just past the midway point of the third period hardly fired up the prolific import as he managed to score only 11 points for the remainder of the game.
It was Mike Ayonayon coming off the bench for only his second game of the conference who instilled fire in the Bossing’s initial fightback before eventually finishing with 11 points.
Justin Chua and Christian David each chopped in 10 markers for Blackwater, which now needs to focus on its Sunday meeting with Barangay Ginebra. (PBA.ph)
The Scores :
RAIN OR SHINE 122 – Thompson 25, Nocum 22, Santillan 20, Asistio 18, Tiongson 11, Clarito 9, Demusis 8, Caracut 6, Ildefonso 1, Belga 0, Norwood 0, Lemetti 0, Escandor 0.
BLACKWATER 106 – King 35, Ayonayon 11, David 10, Chua 10, Escoto 9, Ponferrada 6, Suerte 6, Kwekuteye 5, Jopia 5, Hill 4, Casio 3, Corteza 2, Guinto 0.
QUARTERS : 39-25, 56-47, 94-79, 122-106.
