Coming off two dismal losses, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters bounced back big time from their back-to-back defeats, as they vented their ire on the Phoenix Fuel Masters through a 120-99 demolition, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters improved to 2-2, while the Fuel Masters failed to extend their winning streak to three games and dropped to 2-2 as well.
“I think the players just wanted to win today,” said Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia. “We played two bad games and we got two losses. I told them after the loss against Global that that’s not the team I know.
“So I told them I want a running team and I just challenged in today’s game that from beginning to end, I just want a running team… I just hope that we continue doing the same thing like what we did today,” he added.
Sophomore forward Ed Daquioag — despite leaving the game for good with 7:33 left in the third quarter after apparently hurting his back after a bad fall — led Rain or Shine with 21 markers, five rebounds, and five assists.
“This was the best game that I’ve seen him play,” Garcia remarked about Daquioag.
Meanwhile, James Yap finally broke his personal slump with 20 points on 80 percent shooting along with six boards.
The Elasto Painters roared to a nearly-perfect start in the match, leaving their counterparts in the dust with an eye-popping 27-7 run in the opening frame — a lead they never relinquished until the final buzzer sounded.
Phoenix were able to knock within 16, 43-59, in the third canto, but there was clearly no stopping Rain or Shine. The Elasto Painters posted the game’s widest gap at 39, 86-47, after back-to-back Tiu treys with five minutes left in the same frame.
Dexter Maiquez supplied 18 points for RoS. Main point guard Chris Tiu shone bright in his return as he unloaded 17 points on four triples with seven dimes, and rookie Rey Nambatac had his best game so far with 11 markers.
Rain or Shine shot a superior 55 percent from the field compared to 41 percent for Phoenix. The Fuel Masters committed 19 turnovers that led to 30 points.
Raymond Almazan missed the game due to an undisclosed injury.
Matthew Wright and rookie Jason Perkins led the Fuel Masters with 17 points apiece and combined for 13 rebounds. Gelo Alolino had 12 points, while Jeffrei Chan and Karl Dehesa scored 11 each.
Both teams will return to action Saturday, January 20, at the Cuneta Astrodome. Rain or Shine will go first, as they take on the Kia Picanto at 4:30pm, while Phoenix will slug it out with the Magnolia Hotshots at the 6:45pm main event.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 120 – Daquioag 21, Yap 20, Maiquez 18, Tiu 17, Nambatac 11, Ponferada 10, Borboran 4, Norwood 4, Trollano 3, Belga 2, Matias 0.
Phoenix 99 – Wright 17, Perkins 17, Alolino 12, Chan 11, Dehesa 11, Intal 10, Eriobu 7, Kramer 5, Jazul 5, Mendoza 2, Wilson 2, Chua 0, Revilla 0.
Quarterscores: 39-13, 57-40, 98-67, 120-99.
