Painters zap Hotshots

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

RAIN OR SHINE ruined the coaching debut of Jason Webb, outclassing Star Hotshots with a masterful second half performance for an impressive 96-87 victory last night at the start of the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Even without star guard Paul Lee, the Elasto Painters showed they had more than enough firepower as sophomore Jericho Cruz, Beau Belga and JR Quiñahan joined forces in a blistering finish that left the Star Hotshots in a bind in the final period.

Quiñahan finished with 17 points, Cruz tallied 15 while Belga added eight of his 11 in the final period before fouling out with less than two minutes remaining as the Elasto Painters completed a comeback from an early 12-point deficit.

“It’s actually an ugly win,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “We couldn’t get any rhythm in the first half. We just tried to be patient with our execution and the patience paid off.”

Webb called the shots for the first time since taking over from coach Tim Cone who moved to Barangay Ginebra. And for a while, the Hotshots looked comfortable with their up-tempo style, particularly James Yap who had 13 points at the end of the first half where Star built a 47-40 lead.

But when the Elasto Painters found their stride in the third period, the Hotshots struggled to cope as they bled for points and couldn’t stop Rain or Shine from seizing control.

Quiñahan finally gave the Elasto Painters the lead, 71-70, with a short stab to start the fourth quarter. The lead grew to 86-79 after Belga buried a triple with 3:45 remaining.

Attacking without letup, Cruz also poured seven of his output in the fourth quarter while grabbing five rebounds. Raymond Almazan finished with a near double-double with nine points and nine boards.

“I had some doubts without Paul (Lee), but we eventually settled down,” said Guiao. “The key was settling down and get some rhythm going.” Lee will be out for the next four weeks as he recovers from a knee injury.

The Hotshots broke out of the gates hard with Yap doing most of the damage, scoring nine as Star posted a 23-11 advantage.

The scores:

RAIN OR SHINE 96—Quiñahan 17, Cruz 15, Belga 11, Almazan 9, Norwood 9, Chan 8, Tiu 7, Ponferada 6, Ibanes 4, Teng 4, Ahanmisi 3, Matias 3, Trollano 0.

STAR 87—Barroca 15, Mallari 15, Yap 15, Sangalang 13, Simon 11, Pingris 8, Torres 5, Maliksi 2, Melton 2, Reavis 1, Gaco 0, Pascual J. 0.

Quarters: 17-25, 40-47, 69-70, 96-87