MANILA, Philippines—Everywhere, rain might be the common staple in weather. Within the confines of the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup, it has been all shine so far for the league’s former favorite whipping boys.
Rain or Shine sealed its finest start—however modest—in franchise history, jumping out hard against Red Bull and then strongly weathering a late charge in the end for a 96-90 victory that gave the team a piece of the season-opening tournament’s elimination round lead at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.
The Elasto Painters, who stumbled on two talented Filipino-American guards during the Rookie Draft, led by as many as 24 points in the first half and then showed maturity beyond their years in the stretch for their second straight win that tied them with idle Talk ‘N Text.
“We’re playing more like a family than a team,” coach Caloy Garcia told reporters later. “It’s our first time to beat Red Bull and this is definitely special. It also gives us some momentum since we will be playing San Miguel next.”
The Beermen gave Garcia and Rain or Shine a lot to think about after roaring off to a hot start and never looking back in a 111-98 rout of Purefoods in the second game.
Dondon Hontiveros and new addition Jay Washington led San Miguel with 15 and 14 points, respectively, as the Beermen built leads of as many as 39 before easing off in the final quarter to even their record to 1-1.
The Beermen took a 24-12 lead after one quarter and led all the way. Things only became interesting in the end when Washington and Purefoods guard James Yap got entangled in a meaningless play. Washington was slapped with a technical foul for trash-talking after exchanging a few words with Purefoods team manager Alvin Patrimonio.
‘No disrespect’
“It was nothing, I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Washington said later. “He had something to say and I wanted to hear what he had to say.”
Purefoods fell to 1-1 after opening with an impressive win over the Barako in its first game. Red Bull dropped to 0-2 after that loss to the Painters.
Gabe Norwood, the first overall pick, flashed his versatility all night in scoring 11 points and plucking down 12 rebounds to go with three blocks in a game which finally gave the rest of the field a glimpse of how dominant he could be.
But it wasn’t all Norwood as five others scored 11 or more, with Ryan Araña, a sophomore, highlighting his team-high 15-point output with two crucial triples in the third quarter which helped keep the hard-fighting Barako at bay.
The win was the first in nine meetings for the Elasto Painters against the Barako, who won all of those eight outings by an average of close to 11 points. Three of those victories came while holding the team formerly known as Welcoat below 80 points
The scores:
First Game
RAIN OR SHINE 96—Araña 15, Tang 13, Reyes 13, Wainwright 13, Norwood 11, Mercado 11, Salangsang 8, Laure 6, Isip 4, Ibanes 2.
RED BULL 90—Cruz 17, Baguio 15, Rodriguez 14, Duncil 12, Hubalde 12, Espinas 11, Chan 3, Najorda 2, Sharma 2, Alvarez 2, Hrabak 0.
Quarters: 21-14, 53-32, 70-59, 96-90
Second Game
SAN MIGUEL 111—Hontiveros 15, Washington 14, Racela 13, Custodio 10, Tugade 10, Pena 10, Pennisi 9, Pingris 8, Gonzales 7, Villanueva 6, Cortez 5, Seigle 4.
PUREFOODS 98—Yap J. 21, Simon 19, Raymundo 19, Lanete 10, Bugia 7, Salvador 6, Belga 4, Alonzo 4, Aban 3, Villanueva 3, Robinson 2, Yap R. 0.
Quarters: 26-12, 57-27, 88-57, 111-98
