ANTIPOLO – Rain or Shine went on attack mode early on to set the stage for a 128-116 blowout of Meraco - its second straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday night.
Leonard Santillan had 19 of his 27 points in the opening half, while Gian Mamuyac and Adrian Nocum scored 20-plus points for the Elasto Painters, who improved to a 2-1 (win-loss) record while playing without big men Beau Belga, Keith Datu, and now Caelan Tiongson.
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Nocum and Mamuyac both finished with 24 in the runaway, 12-point victory that somehow dented the aura of the Bolts as the defending champions of the league’s prized jewel.
Meralco suffered a third straight loss to fall to a 2-3 slate as main man Chris Newsome was held to just three points on 1-of-6 shooting from the floor.
“We hpractically have zero bigs,” said Guiao in acknowledging the absence of Belga (vertigo), Datu (calf), and Tiongson (back spasm).
“So the only way we can win the game is really to just keep playing fast which is what we always do anyway.”
That’s exactly what the Elasto Painters did as they ran the Bolts to the ground behind fastbreak plays and inside incursions of Santillan, Mamuyac, and Nocum, who scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter when Rain or Shine enjoyed its biggest lead of the game at 27 points.
Rookie Felix-Lemetti also joined the fray with 13 points including 10 in the second period, while veteran Gabe Norwood turned back the hands of time by adding 12 which he highlighted with a one-handed slam.
Rain or Shine had eight steals to the three of Meralco and had 11 less turnovers, 9-20.
“We just tried to play to our strong suit which is playing with a lot of pace. We wanted to get out and just attack and attack the defense of Meralco,” said Guiao. “Alam namin maliliit kami, so our advantage is really our speed and quickness.”
Bong Quinto mounted a late Meralco charge, scoring 12 of his team-high 24 points in the final quarter, while rookie CJ Cansino and veteran Raymar Jose each finished with 21 points.
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.
Quarterscores: 29-28: 66-59: 102-82: 128-116.
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