Rain or Shine bounced back strong and hammered out a convincing 116-91 triumph 0ver the national youth team of Japan, 116-91, and putting the Elasto Painters in high spirits ahead of their final assignment against a crack American squad Saturday in the William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium.

Import Ange Kouame flexed his muscles in the latter stretch of the third before the Elasto Painters picked up their defense in the fourth period to hold off their younger rivals.

Rain or Shine held Japan to just a single field goal in a six-minute stretch of the fourth, then unloaded 20 points to post an 103-78 lead and their younger counterparts couldn't recover from there.

It was only the second win in seven games for Rain or Shine, but it has somehow leveled up its confidence going to its final encounter against UC Irvine, a US NCAA Division 1 school, which is a nine-time Big West champion.

Gian Mamuyac led the way for the Elasto Painters with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Nick Evans, the team's other import, contributed 16 markers.