Rain or Shine chalked up its first win of the PBA Philippine Cup following a 113-96 rout of a depleted NorthPort Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters zoomed to a 20-4 start in the match to set the tone right from the get-go before breaking away for good in the final period as they made the Batang Pier badly miss the services of Arvin Tolentino.
The newly-crowned BPC was out due to a right hip flexor problem, and his absence helped their foes a great deal on the way to barging into the winners’ circle after falling to NLEX in their conference opener last Saturday.
“We feel na kung nakapaglaro siya mag-iiba complexion ng laro talaga,” said head coach Yeng Guiao of Tolentino, who got hurt in their 97-75 conquest of Terrafirma also last Saturday where he had 19 and 12.
(C) PBA Images
Gian Mamuyac led the way with 22 points, 18 of which he made in the first half that saw him produce 13 just in the first quarter alone as the two-way winger went aggressive right from the opening tip to spark the rout.
Santi Santillan supplied 17 points and 10 rebounds. Caelan Tiongson and Andrei Caracut made 15 points apiece while Adrian Nocum chipped in 10.
But more than this balanced attack, leaving Guiao even more impressed was the way his wards rebounded, winning it by way of a big margin at 66-54 — 25 on the offensive end — despite missing bigs Beau Belga and Keith Datu.
“We were actually open shots I felt we could have made, especially open threes. But what made the day for us was our offensive rebounding,” said Guiao. “It’s a testament to our hard work. Alam naming maliit kami.”
Rain or Shine (1-1) will next take on Meralco on April 27, Sunday, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo with the hope of making it back-to-back wins.
(C) PBA Images
William Navarro, on the other hand, led NorthPort with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Joshua Munzon delivered 14 points and seven assists in the defeat that spoiled the return of Jio Jalalon, who finished with 11 points.
The Batang Pier did try to fight back in the middle quarters and even got as close as seven, 80-73, but could not get a run going anymore.
Mamuyac and Santillan conspired to give Rain or Shine an 86-75 cushion going to the final frame, before Caracut joined hands with the latter to push their lead to its highest at 104-85 with under five minutes left to play.
Coach Bonnie Tan & Co. will look to bounce back when they take on the still-winless Blackwater on April 25, Friday, also at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 113 – Mamuyac 22, Santillan 17, Caracut 15, Tiongson 15, Nocum 10, Norwood 9, Asistio 9, Malonzo 7, Clarito 5, Borboran 4, Escandor 0, Lemetti 0.
NorthPort 96 – Navarro 22, Munzon 14, Jalalon 11, Nelle 11, Onwubere 10, Flores 8, Bulanadi 6, Yu 5, Taha 5, Miranda 4, Tratter 0, Cuntapay 0.
Quarterscores: 31-17, 56-48, 86-75, 113-96.
