Rain or Shine could not get anything going on Saturday evening.
Against host Chinese-Taipei inside a raucous Heping Basketball Gymnasium, the Elasto Painters were given a rough 79-98 drubbing.
Chinese-Taipei dominated the game from start to finish, taking an early 19-11 lead and maintaining a comfortable 40-23 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
Mohammad al Bachir Gadiaga and Will Artino, in the first quarter alone, outscored the entire Rain or Shine team with a combined total of 27 points.
From that point on, Chinese-Taipei consistently extended their lead, finishing the first half with a 20-point advantage and entering the final quarter with a 33-point lead.
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao felt that the sluggish start spelled doom for the Elasto Painters, although he wasn’t overly worried after they dropped the first game.
“‘Yung first quarter masama e. We gave up 40 points in the first quarter, from there ‘di na tayo nakabawi,” said Guiao.
“Part of the adjustment process siguro, may kaunting kaba pa meron pa at paninibago after that I think we can take away a lot of lesson from the first game,” he added.
Artino led the scoring for Chinese-Taipei with 23 points, shooting an impressive 10-of-12 from the field, and grabbing nine rebounds while Gadiaga contributed 22 points to the team’s success.
Lin Tingchien and Li Dewei also made significant contributions, chipping in with 18 points and 11 rebounds, respectively.
Chinese-Taipei Blue joined the ranks of opening day winners, along with Korea’s Anyang KGC, USA’s UC Irvine, and the host’s youth squad.
Anyang secured a 100-84 victory over UAE, while UC Irvine triumphed over Qatar with a commanding 105-38 score. Chinese-Taipei White also emerged victorious, defeating Japan U22 with a score of 85-59.
Rain or Shine’s upcoming challenge will be against the other Chinese-Taipei team on Sunday.
Among the Elasto Painters, four players achieved double-digit scores, with Andrei Caracut leading the way with 18 points.
Angelo Kouame contributed 15 points and an impressive 16 rebounds, while Nick Evans added 14 points and 12 boards.
Rey Nambatac chipped in with 11 points in the loss.
