SMART Gilas Pilipinas overcame a physical challenge imposed by Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to come out victorious in a fight-marred tune-up, 96-75, Thursday afternoon at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City.
The win, despite the ugly scenario, was a fitting way for Gilas to redeem themselves from the shocking 81-76 loss to ASEAN Basketball Leagur club team Tanduay Alab Pilipinas last Saturday in their first tune-up game.
Moreover, the victory spoke volumes on how impactful their recent Tagaytay trip was, where they spent three days of team building sessions.
The bout was nearly called off after Gilas’ Carl Cruz and Rain or Shine’s Don Trollano engaged in a fistfight with 5:44 in the second frame, with Gilas ahead 45-28. The fracas took place after a few bodies hit the floor seconds before such.
Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and the friendly went on. But Cruz was slapped with a flagrant foul and was ejected, finishing the match without any output.
Almost everybody from SMART Gilas provided commendable contributions in the win. Troy Rosario led the pack with 17 points, while Gabe Norwood and June Mar Fajardo finished with 13 and 10 markers respectively.
It was all SMART Gilas right from the get-go. Despite a handful of sloppy plays early, the Nationals managed to open the match with a 12-2 run capped by Jayson Castro’s freebies — a lead they never relinquished all through out.
The Elasto Painters were never able to mount any threat afterwards. As a result, they had allowed the flag-bearers to break away wide and post the game’s biggest lead at 34, 85-51, after Fajardo’s charities with 8:29 left to play.
Dexter Maiquez finished with 14 points for Rain or Shine, while Ed Daquioag backed him up with 11.
The Scores:
SMART Gilas (96) – Rosario 17, Norwood 13, Fajardo 10, Almazan 9, Aguilar 8, Wright 8, Castro 7, Ravena 7, Maliksi 7, Belo 3, Abueva Pogoy 2, Cruz 0, Alas 0.
Rain or Shine (75) – Maiquez 14, Daquioag 13, Cruz 12, Belga 8, Nambatac 6, Trollano 5, Ponferrad 4, Borboran 2, King 2, Casiño 2, Matias 0.
Quarterscores: 33-14, 56-42, 79-49, 96-75.
