Painters nip NLEX to end slump
Rain or Shine struck early and had more left in the end to snap out of its funk with a 97-86 victory over undermanned NLEX Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Maverick Ahanmisi scored the bulk of his team-high 20 points when the Elasto Painters took control at the halfway point of the opening quarter before the likes of Gabe Norwood, James Yap and Chris Tiu joined in to finish the job.
As a result, Rain or Shine cut short a two-game slide to improve to an even 3-3 slate.
"In both offense and defense the effort was there," said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia after the game which saw his team lead by as many as 21 points in the third quarter before easily quashing any threat NLEX comes up with.
Norwood added 13 markers and nine boards, Yap 12 and Tiu 11, five rebounds and four dimes.
The loss was the fourth straight for NLEX, dropping it to a 2-4 record overall.
JR Quinahan wound up with a game-high 22 points while Alex Mallari heated up in the second half to finish with 17 on top of a team-high nine boards.
Top scorer Kiefer Ravena and Larry Fonacier struggled mightily, however, as the Road Warriors were relegated to 11th-running spot.
Ravena notched 14 points but only on 5 of 12 field shooting while Fonacier missed his first seven field goal attempts before draining a futile triple that was still nine points off his average.
Already missing Michael Miranda, serving out a onegame suspension, NLEX saw its frontline become shallower with Rabeh Al-Hussaini sustaining a sprain in practice and Raul Soyud getting into early foul trouble.
Rain or Shine was also missing a key piece in Raymond Almazan, who was also suspended for the game, but that was more than offset when all 12 players fielded in by coach Caloy Garcia chipped in at least two points.
NLEX also contributed to its continuing slide by making just 33 of 86 field attempts and committing 22 turnovers which its opponent converted into 22 points.—
PBA.com