Despite playing without their head coach, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters smoothly cruised to their third win in the Philippine Cup, sailing past the still winless Barako Bull Energy Cola, 99-69, Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters opened the game with an 8-0 rally and never looked back. A clumsy, misfiring Barako Bull could only put up a dismal seven points in the quarter, while the trigger happy Rain or Shine drained shot after shot. They exited the opening period with a commanding 25-7 lead.
The start of the second period saw better shooting from Barako Bull, who had doubled their first quarter score in the first three minutes alone, bagging seven easy points to inject some life into the cause. But the Elasto Painters managed to fire back at every trey drained by Barako Bull, doubling their opponents’ output , 44-21, at the halfway point of the quarter. But the renewed offensive push could do nothing for coach Koy Banal’s Barako Bull, and the Elasto Painters’ lead would only balloon to 27 points by halftime, 55-28.
The third quarter would reveal no change in the pace of the game, as the Elasto Painters would only go on to continue to pace the game. Though the temperature would pick up late in the quarter after a brewing shootout between the two squads, Rain or Shine would close out the third quarter still comfortably in the driver’s seat, 72-48.
Barako Bull showed signs of life early in the fourth quarter, trimming the lead to 19 with seven and a half minutes left in the quarter, 55-76, after a couple of big baskets from JC Intal. But a couple of turnovers in the following minutes gave Rain or Shine the means to pull away and pad their lead once more. Entering the final the two minutes, Rain or Shine would lead 91-65, and would spend the final two minutes draining another few baskets, finally bringing their lead to the line of 3 shortly before the final buzzer.
Jeff Chan led the Elasto Painters with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Ty Tang contributed 12 points, while former University of Santo Tomas starndouts Jervy Cruz and Jeric Teng had 11 and 10 respectively. Veteran bigman Willy Wilson paced Barako Bull with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Mic Pennisi and JC Intal chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao, a representative of the province of Pampanga, was absent during the game, fulfilling his duties as a congressperson. The Elasto Painters rise to 3-2, while Barako Bull fall to 0-4.
