Rain or Shine’s Anton Asistio and Rey Nambatac. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Rain or Shine put on a shooting clinic in the fourth quarter to beat NLEX, 117-93, on Friday in a splendid windup to its debut in the PBA On Tour at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Elasto Painters knocked down seven triples in the payoff period, four of which coming from Anton Asistio to pull away after being up by only a solitary point after three quarters.
Asistio finished with 22 points while Rey Nambatac also had the same output during the contest which saw coach Yeng Guiao equally distributing minutes to those who were in uniform.
“We treat the PBA On Tour as a learning experience. At the same time, we want to develop our competitive spirit ,” Guiao said. “So we feel the games are important because it’s a way for us to improve, try to experiment and validate our system.”
All 12 players appeared for at least 14 minutes for Rain or Shine, with Asistio and Nambatac played the starring roles in the pullaway by scoring 14 each in the fourth. Jewel Ponferada and Sean Ildefonso added 10 and nine points.
NLEX absorbed its second defeat in as many games after dropping Sunday’s match against Blackwater in Caloocan City.
The Road Warriors played shorthanded with Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser still resting after the Southeast Asian Games, Sean Anthony in Canada and Kevin Alas recovering from an illness.
Bong Galanza, who is trying to return to the NLEX roster after starring for CAVITEX in the PBA 3×3, scored 22 points in the loss.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 117—Asistio 22, Nambatac 22, Ponferada 10, Ildefonso 9, Clarito 9, Santillan 9, Borboran 8, Mamuyac 7, Belga 7, Caracut 5, Demusis 5, Norwood 4.
NLEX 93—Galanza 22, Rosales 16, Fajardo 15, Doliguez 11, Trollano 8, Miranda 6, Pascual 6, Celda 4, Gabo 4, Rangel 1.
Quarters: 22-24, 48-51, 75-74, 117-93.