GAMES WEDNESDAY
(PhilSports Arena, Pasig)
5 p.m. – Converge vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. – NorthPort vs. Ginebra
RAIN or Shine veteran forward Gabe Norwood got a pass from Jhonard Clarito, spun to his right from the baseline, and soared for a one-handed slam dunk against defending champion Meralco last night.
Pounding their foes from the third quarter and on, the Elasto Painters zapped the Bolts 128-116 for their second straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Not a move no longer expected from a 17-year veteran, Norwood, 40, turned back the hands of time with the throwdown—his patented highlight—that also gave Rain or Shine an 82-69 lead at the 6:24 mark of the third canto.
With his big men sidelined due to assortment of injuries, Painters coach Yeng Guiao admitted the absence of Beau Belga (vertigo), Keith Datu (calf), and Caelan Tiongson (back spasms) only stoked the fire for the Painters to a fitting follow-up to a 113-96 victor over the NorthPort Batang Pier last April 16 and rose to 2-1.
“We just tried to play to our strong suit which was to playing with a lot of pace, to get out, and just attack the defense of Meralco,” Guiao said. “Alam namin na maliliit kami so ang talagang advantage namin are our quickness and speed.
“We don’t have our bigs. We had practically no bigs and the only way for us to win was to play fast,” he added.
Leonard Santillan uncorked a game-high 27 points, on top of seven rebounds and two assists for Rain or Shine while Adrian Nocum and Gian Mamuyac added 24 markers each.
Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti, Norwood, and Clarito also had 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively, for the Painters.
Meralco failed to recover from a 97-109 loss to Phoenix last April 13 and fell to 2-3 in the season-ending tilt.
Rain or Shine led by only 66-59 at the turn but zoomed to a 102-82 bulge heading into the final period.
A Nocum three-pointer padded the Painters’ edge to as much as 112-85 with 9:21 to go.
Bong Quinto carried the fight for the Bolts with 23 points, five boards, and two dimes while Raymar Jose and CJ Cansino combined for 42.
Chris Banchero also got 14 for Meralco.
It’s the opposite direction—the Painters are getting to a good rhythm in their title bid while the Bolts are showing signs of vulnerability.
