Rain or Shine paints third win

Rain or Shine overhauled a 21-point second quarter deficit and turned it into a 124-105 rout of NLEX to rack up its third straight win for the solo lead in Group B of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Jhonard Clarito had a perfect night as he made all of his nine field goal attempts to finish with 24 points, five steals and four rebounds to pace the Elasto Painters, who remained unbeaten in three starts.

A spotty defensive effort to begin the match saw Rain or Shine give away 40 points to the Road Warriors at the end of the opening period. The Elasto Painters went behind 45-24 early in the second quarter before unleashing a scoring bombardment to get out of the hole and enter halftime on top, 58-54.

“We just kept our patience. We just tried to recover from the shock. Actually, (they had) 40 points in the first quarter, they were making their threes. The first quarter was really shocking for us but we said we’ll just weather the storm, and play our game,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said.

“Offensively, we’re not that bad but we’re a little shaky with our defense at the start,” added Guiao, whose men outscored NLEX, 34-14, in the second period.

The Elasto Painters switched it up in the second half and kept their distance throughout the rest of the game to give the Road Warriors a first taste of defeat after back-to-back victories to start their campaign.

Gian Mamuyac had 22 points, six assists and three steals, Aaron Fuller finished with a double-double of 21 points and 20 rebounds while Andrei Caracut and Caelan Tiongson added 17 and 10 markers, respectively, for Rain or Shine.

The Elasto Painters forced the Road Warriors to commit 19 errors that they turned into 21 turnover points. Rain or Shine’s bench outscored their NLEX counterparts, 79-46.

Robert Bolick led the Road Warriors with 22 points while Myke Henry only had five points in the second half after pouring 16 in the first two quarters to finish with 21.

Box scores:

RAIN OR SHINE (124) --- Clarito 24, Mamuyac 22, Fuller 21, Caracut 17, Tiongson 10, Lemetti 9, Datu 6, Santillan 3, Nocum 3, Asistio 3, Escandor 3, Ildefonso 2, Norwood 1, Villegas 0, Belga 0

NLEX (105) –-- Bolick 22, Henry 21, Rodger 16, Miranda 15, Policarpio 13, Fajardo 9, Amer 6, Nieto 3, Valdez 0, Semerad 0, Marcelo 0, Herndon 0

Quarters: 24-40, 58-54, 91-83, 124-105