Games Wednesday:

(Philsports Arena)

5 p.m. — Converge vs Rain or Shine

7:30 p.m. — NorthPort vs Barangay Ginebra

Rain or Shine came into the game with a gaping donut hole at the center spot.

Quick on their feet with sustained energy and intensity right from the get-go, the Elasto Painters negated defending champion Meralco’s height advantage with blistering speed in a wire-to-wire, 128-116, victory in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Gian Mamuyac’s scrappy plays midway in the third quarter sparked Rain or Shine’s pull away that cushioned the Bolts’ late game rally for its second straight win in three outings.

The Elasto Painters’ collective effort on both sides of the court got them rolling despite a depleted lineup with Beau Belga, Keith Datu, Luis Villegas and Caelan Tiongson in sickbay.

It was head coach Yeng Guiao’s masterclass on how to play without a big man as his guards and wings easily slipped through the Bolts’ defense, outscoring them in the paint, 66-50.

“We just tried to play with our strong suit which is playing with a lot of pace. We wanted to get out and just attack, attack and keep attacking the defense of Meralco,” Guiao said.

“We’re aware that we’re undersized, so, our advantage really was our quickness and our speed. We don’t have our bigs. Caelan couldn’t play, Keith couldn’t play, Beau couldn’t play. Of course, we know, Luis Villegas haven’t played for almost two years.”

Rain or Shine playing assistant coach forward Gabe Norwood was forced to get extended minutes inside the court for some ceiling, logging in 37 minutes in an efficient outing of 12 points on 5-of-8 field goal shooting with five rebounds.

‘We’re aware that we’re undersized, so, our advantage really was our quickness and our speed.’

Santi Santillan scored 27 points and pulled down seven rebounds while Mamuyac finished with 24 markers with five rebounds and four steals, including two in the decisive third period stretch that gave the Elasto Painters a comfortable cushion that even ballooned to 27 to start the fourth quarter.

Guard Adrian Nocum also had 24 points, Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti produced 13 markers and Jhonard Clarito scored 10 as Rain or Shine also took advantage of getting frequent trips to the foul line in a 39-of-47 free throw clip.

“We had practically zero bigs. So, the only way for us to win the game is to keep playing fast which we keep on doing anyway,” Guiao added.

Rain or Shine created a gap early and kept its distance in the first half, running rings around Meralco with relentless attack to the basket.

The Elasto Painters made a killing in fishing for fouls as they shot 23-of-27 from the free throw line in the first 24 minutes of action.

Things looked awry for Meralco after absorbing their third straight defeat and second blowout in a row after a 2-0 start.

Bong Quinto led the Bolts with 23 points, rookie CJ Cansino and Raymar Jose had 21 each while Chris Banchero had 14 in a losing cause.

The scores:

RAIN OR SHINE (128) — Santillan 27, Mamuyac 24, Nocum 24, Lemetti 13, Norwood 12, Clarito 10, Malonzo 9, Caracut 7, Borboran 2, Asistio 0.

MERALCO (116) — Quinto 23, Jose 21, Cansino 21, Banchero 14, Hodge 8, Caram 7, Bates 6, Black 5, Rios 4, Newsome 3, Reyson 2, Almaazan 2, Pascual 0.

Quarters: 29-28, 66-59, 102-82, 128-116.