E-Painters rebound, halt Road Warriors
Rain or Shine bounced back from its shock loss to Kia the last time out, playing heads-up game throughout to repel NLEX, 97-86, and regain a .500 mark in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Taking to heart their disappointing 9498 loss to the Picanto last Saturday, the Elasto Painters came back strong against the Road Warriors, leading almost all throughout en route to their third win against the same number of losses.
Maverick Ahanmisi, Gabe Norwood, James Yap and Chris Tiu showed up Kiefer Ravena and the rest of the NLEX backcourt rotation as the E-Painters dealt the Road Warriors a fourth straight loss after a 2-0 season start.
“I wish we played like this last game. But that’s the way basketball goes,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia.
“Kahit anong balanse ko, we suffered on overconfidence. We were all disappointed but we decided we couldn’t turn back the clock. We moved on, played as one unit and put tremendous effort,” Garcia added.
Meanwhile, Magnolia, TNT KaTropa and Alaska Milk all look to improve their slates in the top four as they see action in tonight’s Petron Blaze Saturday Special, also at the Big Dome.
The Aces (3-2) tangle with the Blackwater Elite (2-3) at 4:30 p.m. then the Hotshots (4-1) and the Texters (3-2) slug it out at 6:45 p.m.
Ahanmisi frolicked with 20 points including five threepointers while Norwood, Yap and Tiu delivered at least 11 points each as the E-Painters nailed a third win in four outings against their former coach Yeng Guiao.
With Michael Miranda serving suspension, NLEX forward JR Quiñahan played longer minutes and scored 22 points against his former teammates.
The Elasto Painters seemed to do better job filling the absence of a suspended teammate – Raymond Almazan.
They opened a big lead right in the opening half and led by as many as 21 at 59-38 on a 12-tonothing roll in a stretch bridging the second and third quarters.
And sustaining a sterling effort to the finish, the E-Painters spoiled Cyrus Baguio’s milestone of barging the Top 10 of the alltime career steals list.
With three steals in the game, Baguio moved past Willy Generalao (639). Among the active PBA players, Ginebra playmaker LA Tenorio (at No. 9 with 668) is the only other in the Top 10 list. The scores: First Game ROS 97 – Ahanmisi 20, Norwood 13, Yap 12, Tiu 11, Borboran 9, Daquioag 7, Maiquez 6, Nambatac 6, Belga 6, Cruz 3, Ponferada 2, Trollano 2
NLEX 86 – Quiñahan 22, Mallari 17, Ravena 14, Baguio 9, Tiongson 6, Alas 6, Gotladera 4, Fonacier 3, Uyloan 3, Soyud 2, Monfort 0, Rios 0, Taulava 0
Quarterscores: 25-20; 53-38; 73-62; 97-86