The Barako Bull Energy bucked off a slow start and relied on the efforts of its youngsters to pick up its fifth win in six outings after fending off Rain or Shine, 112-103 Sunday in the 2015 PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Carlo Lastimosa and RR Garcia took turns in delivering backbreaking blows in the payoff period to catapult the Energy back to the top of the team standings.
The Elasto Painters in contrast, suffered its fourth setback across a solitary win.
After a triple by Garcia pushed the Barako Bull gap to 107-95, Paul Lee and Chris Tiu joined hands in an 8-2 run that brought Rain or Shine to within 6, 103-109 with over a minute in regulation.
But the Elasto Painters struggled to convert on a field goal in the end as the Energy sealed the match with free throws.
Barako Bull rode on the dominance of Liam McMorrow who notched 32 points and 25 rebounds while missing only one of his 12 field goal attempts.
Garcia added 26 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists off the bench even as Joseph Yeo anf Lastimosa contributed 19 and 8, respectively.
Wendell McKines paced the struggling Elasto Painters with a game-high 41 points.
The scores:
Barako Bull (112) – McMorrow 32, Garcia 26, Yeo 19, Ababou 10, Lastimosa 8, Chua 7, Pascual 6, Wilson 2, Lanete 2, Hubalde 0, Intal 0, Maierhofer 0.
Rain or Shine (103) – McKines 41, Lee 21, Tou 7, Uyloan 6, Norwood 6, Almazan 6, Jr. Cruz 5, Arana 3, Belga 2, Ibanes 2, Chan 2, Quinahan 2, Jv. Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 18-27, 52-48, 80-73, 112-103.
