Cruz, Almazan lead Rain or Shine in rout of TNT

Rain or Shine vs TNT KaTropa. PBA IMAGES

New-look Rain or Shine played like its old self as it cruised to a 101-87 win over TNT in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Other than the departure of their longtime coach Yeng Guiao and franchise player Paul Lee, the Elasto Painters didn’t appear like a team that underwent such major changes in the offseason with their mainstays led by Jericho Cruz showing the way.

“Before the game started I just reminded the players that coach Yeng is not arriving tonight,” said ROS coach Caloy Garcia. “Like I said, we’re gonna miss him (Guiao) but we have to move on and this game showed our character.”

“At least we know that we can still win.”

Cruz had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field while Raymond Almazan notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Painters, who led by as much as 18, 94-76, late in the fourth quarter.

Beau Belga added 14 points and seven rebounds while Gabe Norwood scored 13 points, including a left corner triple off a setup by Maverick Ahanmisi that made it, 99-87, with 1:03 left and slammed the door on TNT’s comeback bid.

Veteran forward Ranidel de Ocampo topscored with 24 points for the KaTropa, who reeled from the absence of their superstar guard Jayson Castro (rest).

James Yap, who is still recovering from a minor surgery that removed bone spurs from his left knee, also sat out for Rain or Shine.

“I talked to James the other day and hopefully he’ll be able to play so he could get a feel of the game,” said Garcia.

Yap was acquired from Star in the offseason in exchange for Lee.

After top overall pick Mac Belo played his first PBA game for Blackwater in the first game, a couple more former Far Eastern University standouts debuted with Mike Tolomia and Roger Pogoy providing significant contributions for their respective squads.

Tolomia had 11 points, four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes off the bench for the Painters while Pogoy started and tallied nine points and three rebounds in a little over 30 minutes of action for the KaTropa.

“Surprisingly, he played very well as a rookie,” Garcia said of Tolomia.