Games Friday:
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5 p.m. — Terrafirma vs Magnolia
7:30 p.m. — NLEX vs Meralco
Rain or Shine extended its onslaught into the new year.
Total team effort and balanced scoring keyed in the Elasto Painters’ masterful 122-106 drubbing of Blackwater for their fifth straight victory in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Deon Marshall Thompson showed the way for the Elasto Painters, who opened a 23-point lead in the first period, as he posted a double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds on top of four assists and one block.
The Elasto Painters hiked their win-loss record to 5-1 and showed no signs of rust after more than two weeks of break since their last game back on 22 December in a rout of Terrafirma.
“My primary concern at the beginning was how sharp are the guys going to be coming off almost a three-week break. This is our first game in the new year so I’m just a little bit concerned about how they will play our first game,” Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said.
“We had a good first quarter. We had a great start. But we had a very bad second quarter that’s why we lost a 23-point lead. But what’s good about it is it’s a game of runs and we’re able to get enough runs for ourselves to win the game.”
Adrian Nocum poured 18 of his 22 points in the second half, including nine straight markers in a decisive third quarter run, that kept Rain or Shine at a safe distance.
Santi Santillan had 20 markers while Anton Asistio added 18 points and seven assists in a starting role for the Elasto Painters.
However, Rain or Shine lost forward Caelan Tiongson midway through the third quarter when he sprained his left ankle after stepping on Nocum’s foot while backpedaling following a made layup.
He left the game with 11 points on a near-perfect 4-of-5 field goal shooting.
The Elasto Painter built their biggest lead, 39-16, after a Santillan jumper with 2:10 left in the opening canto.
Blackwater made it interesting with a 17-2 fightback after going down a deep hole to close in, 41-33, after Richard Escoto completed a three-point play with 10 minutes left in the second.
Bossing import George King brought it down to six, 47-41, only for Rain or Shine to fire back and enter the break with a nine-point advantage.
Blackwater fell to a 1-6 slate, suffering its third defeat in a row.
King had 35 points and 12 boards, Rian Ayonayon had 11 markers while Justin Chua and Christian David added 10 markers each in a lost cause.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE (122) — Thompson 25, Nocum 22, Santillan 20, Asistio 18, Tiongson 11, Clarito 9, Demusis 8, Caracut 6, Ildefonso 1, Belga 0, Norwood 0, Lemetti 0, Escandor 0.
BLACKWATER (106) --- King 35, Ayonayon 11, David 10, Chua 10, Escoto 9, Ponferrada 6, Suerte 6, Kwekuteye 5, Jopia 5, Hill 4, Casio 3, Corteza 2, Guinto 0.
Quarters: 39-25, 56-47, 94-79, 122-106.