Rain or Shine’s ending to the year 2017 wasn’t as colorful as it hoped it would be.
The Elasto Painters suffered a disappointing 92-87 loss to Blackwater in a game they could’ve prevented from getting into the wayside.
Point guard Chris Tiu said what they put on the defensive end was a sorry excuse against a team that had already began building confidence in the early stages of the match.
“Our defense was spotty today, we gave up a lot of open shots, and most of their shots were unchallenged,” said Tiu Friday at Cuneta Astrodome. “Blackwater was already feeling confident and they were shooting well especially in the first half.”
Blackwater tallied 45.5 percent from the three-point range, going 5-of-11 in the first half alone, while scoring 11 points on the break to take a 47-44 lead heading into the break.
Rain or Shine then saw the Elite close the game out with a 13-6 run with Mac Belo capping it off with an open three-pointer with 1:39 left in the game.
What compounded the Elasto Painters’ problems was their last field goal in the game was in the 1:51 mark of the fourth when Beau Belga’s layup cut the deficit to 87-83.
“I guess it’s a poor defensive game and it was complimented by a bad offensive game, and that became a disaster,” said Tiu who had 14 points and four assists as Rain or Shine slipped to 1-1.
“We didn’t execute very well, which led to a lot of easy points for them, and their confidence just grew. It’s hard to play against a team with that much confidence.”