Painters put spat to rest with victory
MANILA—Rain or Shine put to rest the spat involving its superstar guard and coach with a 98-86 rout of Barako Bull that ended its two-game slide Sunday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Solomon Mercado bounced back from an atrocious showing against Ginebra with a conference-high 21 points, while center Jay-R Reyes played his best game so far with 20 points and 13 rebounds to lift the Elasto Painters to solo sixth with a 3-4 card.
The spitfire guard was benched in the last 17 minutes against the Gin Kings and was later seen engaged in a heated exchange of words with coach Caloy Garcia after the 73-90 loss Friday night.
The confrontation got so intense that, at one point, Mercado reportedly said he can’t play for Garcia anymore.
But Garcia downplayed the incident, calling it actually “healthy” for the team.
“It’s a closed book. If we didn’t have that confrontation, I think Sol wouldn’t have played this way,” said Garcia, who met with Mercado and the team management Saturday to sort out the incident.
“It’s natural. When you lose a game especially against a team like Ginebra, you feel bad and say negative things. That’s basketball. For me its healthy, things like this happen.”
In a clash of heavyweights later in the evening, Talk ‘N Text held off Alaska, 93-83, to stay in step with idle San Miguel Beer at 5-1.
The Aces dropped to 3-3.
In explaining his reason for keeping Mercado on the bench, Garcia said he also wanted to build up the confidence of TY Tang and rookie RJ Jazul.
“If you want to get far in this conference, we need to have everybody playing their best,” said Garcia. “Not one guy can win the whole game.”
The Elasto Painters scored 12 of the game’s first 14 points and scooted to a 53-33 lead late in the second period after back-to-back baskets by Jervy Cruz.
It was smooth sailing from there for the Elasto Painters, who shot a conference-high 56.2 percent from the field and dished out 20 assists. The shooting clip was also the second-highest for the 5-year-old franchise.
“We were moving the ball very well, which we didn’t do against Meralco and Ginebra,” said Garcia.
Listless against the Gin Kings, Rain or Shine had a more balanced charge this time with four more players scoring eight points each.
Jeff Chan had 11 points Larry Rodriguez added 10, and Gabe Norwood came through with 8 points and five assists.
The Energy Boosters were sent crashing back to earth after their 89-79 conquest of Air21 Friday night.
Mark Isip had another solid game though with a career-high tying 29 points and six rebounds for the Energy Boosters, who have yet to register back-to-back wins for close to two years.
The scores:
First Game
RAIN OR SHINE 98—Mercado 21, Reyes 20, Chan 11, Rodriguez 10, Norwood 8, Arana 8, Tang 6, Cruz 5, Vanlandingham 3, Kramer 2, Bugia 2, Ferriols 2, Jazul 0, Ibanes 0.
BARAKO BULL 86—Isip 29, Juntilla 15, Bono 10, Hubalde 9, Salvacion 5, Wainwright 5, Yee 5, Andaya 3, Cruz 2, Dimaunahan 2, Duncil 1, Thiele 0, Alonzo 0.
Quarters: 25-16, 53-35, 79-62, 98-86
Second Game
TALK N’ TEXT 93—Castro 17, Alapag 16, Dillinger 13, Carey 12, Williams 11, Peek 10, Fonacier 8, Reyes 6, Aban 0, Alvarez 0.
ALASKA 83—De Vance 23, Hugnatan 13, Thoss 12, Tenorio 11, Baguio 10, Dela Cruz 8, Custodio 4, Borboran 2, Eman 0.
Quarters: 28-25, 44-46, 68-70, 93-83
First Game
RAIN OR SHINE 98—Mercado 21, Reyes 20, Chan 11, Rodriguez 10, Norwood 8, Arana 8, Tang 6, Cruz 5, Vanlandingham 3, Kramer 2, Bugia 2, Ferriols 2, Jazul 0, Ibanes 0.
BARAKO BULL 86—Isip 29, Juntilla 15, Bono 10, Hubalde 9, Salvacion 5, Wainwright 5, Yee 5, Andaya 3, Cruz 2, Dimaunahan 2, Duncil 1, Thiele 0, Alonzo 0.
Quarters: 25-16, 53-35, 79-62, 98-86
Second Game
TALK N’ TEXT 93—Castro 17, Alapag 16, Dillinger 13, Carey 12, Williams 11, Peek 10, Fonacier 8, Reyes 6, Aban 0, Alvarez 0.
ALASKA 83—De Vance 23, Hugnatan 13, Thoss 12, Tenorio 11, Baguio 10, Dela Cruz 8, Custodio 4, Borboran 2, Eman 0.
Quarters: 28-25, 44-46, 68-70, 93-83
