RAIN or Shine veteran big man Beau Belga and young gun Adrian Nocum trapped Mike Ayonayon on the right wing, with the Blackwater guard nowhere to go and his feet seemingly planted on a trip mine early in the fourth quarter last night.
Propped up by their A-Game, the Elasto Painters overwhelmed the Bossing 122-106 for their fifth straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Belga and Nocum’s suffocating and double-teaming defense forced Ayonayon and Blackwater to a shot clock violation with 8:06 left and the Painters comfortably ahead 102-88.
Coach Yeng Guiao felt anxious about his charges’ sharpness after the holiday break but was pleased with how Rain or Shine regained its bearing after nearly losing a 23-point first quarter spread.
“My primary concern at the beginning was how sharp the guys were going to be coming off after almost a three-week break. This was our first game of the new year. Medyo concerned ako kung paano sila maglalaro sa first game namin,” Guiao said. “We’ve had good practices but iba pa rin kapag nakita mo sa laro. We had a good first quarter, maganda iyong start namin.
“But we really had a bad second quarter that’s why we almost lost the 23-point lead. What’s good about it was it was a game of runs and we were able to get enough runs for us to win the game,” he added.
Import Deon Thompson turned in a double-double of 25 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists for the Painters while Nocum backed him up with 22 markers and five boards.
Leonard Santillan, Anton Asistio, and Caelan Tiongson also had 20, 18, and 11 points, respectively for Rain or Shine which came off a 124-112 victory over Terrafirma last Dec. 22 and rose to 5-1.
Tiongson left the duel for good midway through the third quarter due to a left ankle sprain.
The Bossing reeled off to their third loss in a row, including a 93-109 rout at the hands of the TNT Tropang Giga last Dec. 19.
The Painters zoomed to a 39-16 edge on a Santillan basket at the 2:10 mark of the opening period.
Blackwater whittled the deficit to 47-56 at the half before Rain or Shine pulled away anew for a 94-79 advantage going into the final canto.
Reinforcement George King carried the fight for the Bossing with 35 points, 12 caroms, and four feeds while Ayonayon added 11 and three.
Justin Chua and Christian David also got 10 markers each for Blackwater.
The Painters continue to look good in the mid-season tourney—it’s now a matter of consistency as the conference progresses to its crucial stretches.
