Rain or Shine sent the hard-luck Blackwater to an early vacation, 116-97, to snap out of its two-game funk and more importantly stay in the playoff hunt in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Well-rested following an 11-day break, the Elasto Painters leaned on a big second half on the way to chalking up their fifth win to climb up to joint seventh with another 5-6 team in Phoenix Super LPG in the team standings.
“Sa nilaro namin ngayon, good sign ‘to,” said head coach Yeng Guiao. “Pero napakahirap ipagpag ng Blackwater … marami lang talaga silang kulang, manipis lang rotation. Pero kung kumpleto, mahirap talunin ito.”
Ryan Pearson led RoS with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, helping set the tone in the third quarter that eventually led to his first win after beginning his PBA career with losses at the hands of Bay Area and Converge.
Rey Nambatac finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Young gun Anton Asistio and Norbert Torres added 13 markers apiece off the bench as a total of 13 players scored at least two points in the victory.
The Elasto Painters made it rain with 17 three-pointers, two of which pushed their lead to a game-high 21 points twice in the final period.
Rain or Shine will head into a week-long break before battling 2-seed Magnolia (8-2) next Friday, 5:45 p.m., at the same venue, hoping of course to pull off an upset against the favorites to further boost their playoff chances.
“Mabigat yung huling kalaban namn, Magnolia. But gumaganda naman laro ng import namin. He’s playing better,” Guiao offered. “May isang linggo kami magprepare para sa Magnolia, gawin namin makakaya namin.”
The loss, meanwhile, couldn’t be any more painful for Blackwater, who hoped for a promising conference after reaching the playoffs of the last Philippine Cup only to end the mid-season joust with six consecutive losses.
Their fate was a tad similar to their run in the season-opening tournament. The Bossing ended the all-Filipino wars with five defeats in a row, including the 123-93 beating from eventual champions San Miguel in the quarterfinals.
Battered by injuries to key cogs JVee Casio, Troy Rosario, and Baser Amer, the Ariel Vanguardia-coached side ended the tilt with a 3-9 record.
Cameron Krutwig led Blackwater with 23 points and 17 rebounds in the loss. Jollo Go had 18 points, while Trevis Jackson and Rey Suerte added 13 and 12 markers, respectively, for a team that was also without Gab Banal.
The Bossing has joined bottom-dweller Terrafirma (1-9) — coincidentally the last team they beat — as the first teams to head to an early vacation.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine 116 – Pearson 22, Nambatac 21, Asistio 13, Torres 13, Demusis 9, Ildefonso 7, Belga 7, Mamuyac 7, Caracut 7, Ponferrada 3, Santillan 3, Clarito 2, Guinto 2, Norwood 0, Borboran 0.
Blackwater 97 – Krutwig 23, Go 18, Jackson 13, Suerte 12, Ayonayon 10, Ular 7, Melton 6, Ebona 3, Sena 2, Dyke 1, McCarthy 0.
Quarterscores: 24-20, 51-45, 82-71, 116-97
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
