Rain or Shine makes it two in a row after dominating Mahindra

MANILA, Philippines – The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters made it two straight wins to open their 2016 PBA season after taking down the Mahindra Enforcers, 108-94, on Sunday, October 25, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Despite still not having Paul Lee, who’s out two months with a knee injury, the Elasto Painters were more than formidable on offense and tightened up on the defensive end in the third quarter to build a lead that allowed them to cruise the rest of the way.

It was the first game this season for the Enforcers, who had 8-division boxing champion Manny Pacquiao in uniform.

“We’re still struggling with our first half, just like in the [Star] game,” Elasto Painters head coach Yeng Guiao said post-game. 

“We cannot keep doing that and make it our habit. We have to have a good start and a good strong finish.”

Nonetheless, his team’s history when starting conferences 2-0 is good. The last time they did so was in the 2013-2014 Philippine Cup, where they advanced to the finals.

“We’re 2-0 and we have a 9 day break. It’s a nice feeling,” said Guiao.

It was a well-balanced attacked by his troops, with veteran big JR Quinahan and 3rd overall pick Maverick Ahanmisi leading the way as they scored 14 points each.

Jeff Chan and Jericho Cruz both played well, too, finishing with 12 points apiece, while Beau Belga accounted for 11 points.

Mahindra was led by the 20 points of gunner Karl Dehesa, who hit 4 triples. LA Revilla and Aldrech Ramos both played well with 14 points each, while rookie Bradwyn Guinto, KG Canaleta, and Mark Yee put up 11 points each.

“I told the guys before the game that this team has the capacity to embarass any team in this league if you will be complacent… we were almost that in the first half,” said Guiao, whose Elasto Painters are 4-0 overall against the Enforcers.

“I had to wake them up in the locker room so that we would come out with more energy in the second half.”

The Elasto Painters outscored their opponents 31-20 in the third period, and that was mainly due to good defense.

The explosion commenced when Jireh Ibanes hit back to back shots to put his team up by double digits, 69-58. Later on, Chan and Quinahan took turns making their free throws that pushed the lead to 13.

Rain or Shine ended the third quarter with free throws by Cruz and a basket by Jewel Ponferada that put their team up 79-64. It proved to be enough of a cushion to seal the victory.

The Elasto Painters shot 57% from the field and 50% from downtown. Mahindra hit just 36% of their attempts.

Pacquiao scored his first ever PBA field goal in the second period with about 10 minutes left in the first half by nailing a jumper over Chris Tiu, awakening the crowd in the process

“I think it’s historic that Congressman Manny Pacquiao scored on us,” said Guiao, who also added: “we will be posterized forever.”

Scores:

Rain or Shine (108): Ahanmisi 14, Quinahan 14, Chan 12, Cruz 12, Belga 11, Almazan 9, Tiu 8, Trollano 8, Ponferada 7, Teng 6, Ibanes 4, Norwood 3, Matias 0, Nimes 0

Mahindra (94): Dehesa 20, Ramos 14, Revilla 14, Canaleta 11, Guinto 11, Yee 11, Jaime 6, Laure 2, Pacquiao 2, Pinto 2, Pascual 1, Alvarez 0, Bagatsing 0, Hubalde 0

Quarter scores: 23-25, 48-44, 79-64, 108-94

– Rappler.com