Rain or Shine takes spotlight away from TNT, Bol Bol

Coach Yeng Guiao and Rain or Shine may have given the rest of the teams some hope that TNT import Bol Bol may not be that of an imposing presence after all.

“Maybe the teams saw that it’s not an impossible job,” Guiao said after the Elasto Painters pulled one over the defending champion Tropang 5G, 112-109, in their highly-anticipated and fight-marred PBA Commissioner’s Cup encounter on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“But it’s still a very difficult job,” Guiao continued, adding that his team may have benefited from the predicament of having to be the first team to face the 7-foot-3 NBA vet who was good as advertised.

But Rain or Shine found some kinks in his armor, with Adrian Nocum hitting a crucial layup over Bol that eventually settled the final outcome.

Bol would miss a game-tying three on the ensuing possession and Rain or Shine would go 2-0 in the midseason conference.

“We were lucky that we faced them on their first game,” the Elasto Painters coach said. “Bol Bol will be better in his second game, in his third game, so we were just lucky.”

Nocum finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds while also getting significant contributions from Luis Villegas, who added 13, as Rain or Shine weathered the loss of import Jaylen Johnson.

Johnson came to blows with TNT’s Glenn Khobuntin with over six minutes left in the fourth quarter, before cooler heads eventually intervened and prevented the incident from escalating.

The two were wrestling for position underneath when things simmered with Khobuntin landing a left uppercut into Johnson’s jaw. Johnson appeared to have countered with a straight right and tried to land more blows before they were separated.

“It’s just too bad that it happened,” Guiao said. “Jaylen’s a good guy, but napikon siya dahil pinikon siya (but he lost his cool because he was provoked).

“If I would want to get under the skin of an import, I would have my trashy player hit that import,” Guiao added in Filipino.

The fight was among the reasons why such an early-elimination round game had a playoff-type atmosphere.

It was a good turnout at the Big Dome, perhaps not because it was a holiday and that crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra opened its campaign against guest team Macau at presstime, but also the curiosity towards Bol.

Bol finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and five blocks after one of the most-hyped debuts by an import in recent league history.