ANTON Asistio finished what Ange Kouame started as Rain or Shine pulled off a nail-biting 98-90 double-overtime victory over Iran yesterday for its first win in the 2023 William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium.
Showing steely nerves, Asistio drained a triple with 1:17 left in the second extra period to give the Elasto Painters a 93-88 lead, helping the team avert another fourth quarter collapse.
Gabe Norwoord, reinserted for defensive purposes, completed a stop before Asistio found Kouame underneath to seal the deal for Rain or Shine.
Kouame, who kept ROS afloat in the extra period after squandering a 14-point lead in the final five minutes of regulation, finished with 20 points — 14 of them in the two OT periods — to go with nine rebounds and nine blocks.
Andrei Caracut added 19 points while Santi Santillan chalked up 17 as the two spearheaded the assault for the Filipinos who built a 72-58 lead in the fourth.
The Iranians, however, refused to go down without a fight and unleashed a blistering 16-2 run to end the regulation and force overtime.
Amir Azari paced Iran with 16 points while Amir Yazarloo and Ali Reza Sharifi added 15 apiece
Rain or Shine goes for back-to-back wins when it faces Anyang KGC today, Thursday, before taking a break Friday.
