After succumbing in their prior outing and scoring just 74 points against Barangay Ginebra, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters cruised to a 107-93 win against Blackwater Elite at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday night.
A balanced-scoring affair yielded five Elasto Painters in double-figures led by James Yap’s 15 points and five rebounds while Raymond Almazan added a double-double with 14 markers and 16 rebounds.
Blackwater led by as much as six during the opening frame, but it was quickly erased by Rain or Shine’s perimeter sniping. The Elasto Painters capped a 10-4 run to closeout the first half with a three-pointer from Yap that switched the lead in their favor.
Rain or Shine broke loose in the second half, with another strong finish to give the squad to a comfortable 16-point cushion heading into the final canto. The Elite quickly shaved off six points in the first part of the fourth, but the run was cut short due to back-to-back triples by Beau Belga and Don Trollano.
The Elasto Painters fired a stellar 50 percent clip from beyond-the-arc after a 13-of-26 shooting performance. Trollano added another triple with six minutes left in the match to put the nail in the coffin, as the team erected its biggest separation of the game at 99-77.
Yap finally had his breakout game for the Elasto Painters, which came from an efficient 5-of-9 shooting and two three-pointers in his start for the team. ‘Big Game James’ also was named the top player of the match but admitted it’s still a long process to fully grasp the team’s system.
“Well para sa akin hindi pa adjusted kasi sobrang bago ko palang sa Rain or Shine. Patuloy ko pa ring pinagaaralan yung play namin kaya minsan nawawala pa ako,” Yap shared. “It’s been awhile na nakabalik ako dito(as best player).”
He furthered that he embraces the role of playing the part on whatever Coach Caloy Garcia tells him to do, saying “Sa Rain or Shine, yung sistema pantay pantay. Gusto ko ma-adjust ako, minsan galing sa bench at kailangan pa uminit. Thank God at sabi lang sakin ni Coach Caloy na mag ready lang ako at bibigyan niya talaga ako ng minutes.”
Rain or Shine had 50 rebounds against Blackwater’s 41. Moreover, the winning crew dished out 23 assists out of their 37 field goals made, while shooting 50 percent from the floor for the entire game.
Mac Belo topped the Elite in scoring with 13 points, to go along with nine boards and three assists. Art Dela Cruz and James Sena both chipped in 12 apiece in the loss.
Rain or Shine (3-1) will next face the Star Hotshots (1-2) on December 18, while the Blackwater Elite (2-2) tries to arrest their two-game funk against the NLEX Road Warriors (1-2) on December 14. Both games will be played at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine (107) – Yap 15, Almazan 14, Ponferada 13, Chan 11, Trollano 11, Norwood 9, Ahanmisi 8, Belga 8, Washington 7, Cruz 6, Tolomia 5, Ibanes 0, Matias 0
Blackwater (93) – Aguilar 15, Belo 13, Dela Cruz 12, Sena 12, Buenafe 11, Pascual 8, Gamalinda 7, Pinto 6, Cervantes 4, Miranda 3, Ababou 2, Banal 0, Forrester 0, Perez 0
Quarterscores: 16-19, 46-39, 75-59, 107-93.
