Philippine economy

Rain or Shine rallies in the fourth to beat Blackwater

Naveen Ganglani

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Rain or Shine rallies in the fourth to beat Blackwater
The Elasto Painters come back from a 9-point deficit to hand Blackwater Elite its 2nd loss of the season

MANILA, Philippines – Eddie Laure was turning back the clock. Calls weren’t going their way. Not one player could hit a 3-pointer at all.

That pretty much summed up the story for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the third quarter of their game against the Blackwater Elite on Friday night, October 24, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Entering the fourth, Rain or Shine Head Coach Yeng Guiao and his team trailed by 9, 60-51, and looked en route to a second straight defeat to start their 2014-2015 PBA Philippine Cup campaign.

But somehow, the undermanned Elasto Painters managed to pull off the win, 82-75, using their experience and leaning on the strong play of sophomore Raymond Almazan, who finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds, and their other main guys that came up with clutch baskets.

“Only advantage we had going into the fourth quarter was our experience.,” Guiao said after the game. “People like to underestimate the expansion teams but they’re stronger than they look,” he also complimented their opponents, who is one of the PBA’s two new teams playing their first season.

Capped off by 5 straight points from Almazan, ROS went on a 11-2 run to start the final quarter of the game. Not long after, consecutive baskets by Gabe Norwood and TY Tang pushed the count to 66-62, in favor of the Painters.

But the relentless Elite wouldn’t go away without a fight, leaning on the experienced Laure to tie the contest not long after at 66.

When Blackwater took a two-point lead later in the game, Rain or Shine managed to go on another run, putting up six straight points thanks to Jeff Chan and Beau Belga, 74-70, ROS.

On the subsequent possession with the shot clock winding down, Blackwater guard Alex Nuyles attacked the rim and threw up a prayer that didn’t hit the rim.The Elite managed to grab the rebound just as the clock expired, but the game officials made the mistake of re-starting the clock rather than awarding possession to the Elasto Painters.

“There’s also some questionable calls – especially the 24-second violation. I think it was an obvious ones the referees missed,” said Guiao, who requested the game’s officials to perform a better job moving forward.

Blackwater managed to cut ROS’ lead to two, but Chan and company earned consecutive trips to the free throw line where, unlike in their loss to the San Miguel Beermen on Tuesday, October 21, they closed out the game.

“It’s really just our experience that won us the game.”

Chan had 9 points but shot just 3-of-12 from the field, while Belga was 4-of-10 with 9 markers and 6 boards. As a team, Rain or Shine shot 38% from the field but missed all of their 25 attempts from 3-point range.

The Elasto Painters played their second straight game without Chris Tiu, who said he will be out for maybe three more weeks.

Paul Lee was also absent on Friday night, resting a hyperextended knee he suffered in their loss to San Miguel.

“I think Paul can play in the next game. I hope we play better than we did tonight,” Guiao said about his team’s next matchup.

Other than flirting with disqualification with his 5 fouls, Laure, 37-years-old and the third overall pick in the 2003 PBA Draft, put on a superb throwback performance by registering 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Nuyles had 13, but shot just 5-of-20 from the field for Blackwater, which as a team converted just 35% of their attempts. Turnovers were also a problem for the Elite, who coughed the ball up 17 times leading to 26 ROS points.

Rain or Shine improved to 1-1, while the expansion team fell to the bottom of the league standings at 0-2.

Blackwater first established a lead in the first quarter thanks to the energetic play of Nuyles, whose constant attacking of the rim and hustle for rebounds helped him record a couple of early field goals that put the Elite ahead, 16-11, after 12 minutes of play.

The second quarter opened with Juami Tiongson (12 points) converting an easy shot, prompting Coach Guiao to call a time-out hoping to rile up his players and turn the rhythm to their side.

However, the Elasto Painters couldn’t quell the momentum of the expansion team, with Laure making a couple of shots down the stretch of the second quarter to help give his team a 13-point lead, 38-25, just a few minutes before halftime.

The combination of Laure and Nuyles, two former Elasto Painters, totaled for 16 points in the first half and guided the Elite to a 40-31 advantage at the break.

Scores:

ROS (82): Almazan 17, Chan 9, Belga 9, Ibanes 8, Cruz Jericho 8, Norwood 7, Cruz Jervy 6, Quinahan 6, Uylaon 4, Tang 4, Teng 2, Arana 2

Blackwater (75): Laure 16, Nuyles 13, Gamalinda 13, Tiongson 12, Faundo 6, Menor 5, Artadi 4, Erram 2, Rodriguez 2, Ballesteros 2, Timberlake 0, Cawaling 0

Quarter Scores: 11-16, 31-40, 51-60, 82-75

Here are some images of the game taken by Nuki Sabio/PBA Images

– Rappler.com

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