Rain or Shine’s Javee Mocon (left) and Alaska’s Jeron Teng chase the loose ball. —SHERWIN VARDELEON
Rain or Shine brought down another perennial PBA Philippine Cup title contender at Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday night, but coach Caloy Garcia said the Elasto Painters still need to improve on one major aspect.
“We have to be consistent,” Garcia said after their 85-72 win over a severely undermanned Alaska crew that allowed the Painters to stay close behind unbeaten leader Phoenix Pulse.
“Lucky for us that Alaska [had manpower woes]. We allowed them to get back in the game.”
The Painters, who didn’t have to contend with at least three of the Aces’ traditional starters, led by as much as 22 points and didn’t need anyone to dominate offensively in the lopsided contest.
Rain or Shine, at 4-1, trails idle Phoenix (4-0).
Alaska debuted sans Vic Manuel, JV Casio and Kevin Racal who have different injuries.
A fourth Ace, Yutien Andrada, was also injured.
In the second game, Roger Pogoy scored five straight points late in overtime to key an 80-75 TNT win over Magnolia, which also played its first game since ruling the Commissioner’s Cup last December.
Pogoy scored 26 points and Jayson Castro 24 as the Texters rose to a fourth-best 3-3.
“To be honest, I was expecting us to be 4-1 after five games,” Garcia said. “But I really didn’t expect us to beat some of the teams that we beat and lose to Blackwater.”
The 99-111 loss to the Elite on Wednesday, admitted Garcia, was a game they took lightly coming in.
“Every team is a tough match,” Garcia said. “It’s how you come into the game.”
Rey Nambatac had 12 points to lead the Painters, who also have victories over four-time defending champion San Miguel Beer and crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra.